"This is going to be a nightmare on fraud," Former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate told CBS News. "It was our community leaders on the ground that sounded this early," Ocasio-Cortez said Monday, recounting how constituents told her office last year that they were unable to bury their relatives because they could not afford it.Īlthough the measure passed in December, the funeral reimbursement program stalled following concerns within the agency about fraud. Democrats' $1.9 trillion stimulus last month offered the agency an additional $50 billion toward coronavirus-related costs. government covering 100% of the funeral costs, according to the measure. The legislation required "an individual or household to meet disaster-related funeral expenses" incurred through December 31, 2020, with the U.S. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both New York Democrats, pushed for the $2 billion for FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund to be included in the $900 billion relief deal Congress approved in December. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Under the Stafford Act, FEMA may offer help with burial costs if the deaths were caused by an emergency formally recognized by a presidential disaster declaration.īut FEMA's COVID-19 funeral reimbursement program marks the largest of its kind, with more than 564,000 Americans killed, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The federal government has historically provided support for losses suffered during a major natural disaster or emergency, including Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Maria in 2017. FEMA encourages applicants to produce funeral expense documents such as receipts, and a funeral home contract that includes the applicant's name, the deceased individual's name, the funeral expenses and dates the costs were incurred.
The death must have occurred within the U.S.or its territories, and funeral expenses must have been incurred after January 20, 2020. To qualify, applicants must submit an official death certificate indicating that the death "may have been caused by" or "was likely the result of" COVID-19 or coronavirus-like symptoms. In an effort to ensure we are reaching all eligible applicants, FEMA has produced the attached funeral assistance flyers in a variety of languages.FEMA's reimbursement checks are intended to cover costs including the burial plot, casket, clergy services, cremation, transfer of remains and headstones. If you have any questions, please contact my District Office at (612) 333-1272. If multiple individuals contribute toward funeral expenses, they should register under a single application as applicant and co-applicant. Please note, FEMA will only award COVID-19 funeral assistance for a deceased individual on a single application. Documentation (receipts, funeral home contract, etc.) must include the applicant's name as the responsible person for the expense, the deceased individual's name, the amount of funeral expenses, and that funeral expenses were incurred after January 20, 2020 Similar phrases that indicate a high likelihood of COVID-19 are also considered sufficient. The death certificate must indicate the death "may have been caused by" or "was likely a result of" COVID-19 or COVID-19-like symptoms. The call center will be open from 9am to 9pm ET, starting April 12.īefore you call, please collect relevant documentation. citizens, legal residents, asylees, refugees, or non-citizen nationals.
The deceased's documentation status is not considered, but the applicants must be U.S. Applicants can receive up to $9,000 per burial. If you lost loved ones to COVID-19, you can apply for retroactive reimbursements for burial costs.
0 kommentar(er)
