As the death toll from COVID-19 continues to rise, the federal government has a program that could help families who are not dealing with just the grief of losing a loved one but are also trying to figure out how to quickly come up with thousands of dollars for funeral costs, especially for families who have lost multiple members in a short amount of time to the virus.
Families who have lost someone to the coronavirus can apply for up to $9,000 reimbursement for funeral costs through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, The Associated Press reported.
FEMA has reimbursed 226,000 people a total of about $1.5 billion for funeral costs as of Dec. 6 for funerals that happened after Jan. 20, 2020. But the death toll in the U.S. is over 800,000 people, meaning that about 574,000 people could be applying for the funding and haven’t.
To qualify, anyone who died from Jan. 20, 2020, to May 16, 2020, must have a signed statement from a medical examiner, coroner or the certifying official on the death certificate that the person died from COVID-19 or the illness contributed to the person’s death, the AP reported.
For deaths after May 16, 2020, the cause of death was due to COVID-19 or that the virus contributed to the person’s death.
Once granted, the reimbursement goes directly to the family who applied.
Services covered include the funeral; cremation or interment; caskets or urn; burial plots or cremation niches; markers or headstones; transportation or transfer of remains; officiant services and use of funeral home equipment or staff, the AP reported.
It takes fewer than 30 days in most cases to find out if someone is eligible, according to FEMA. The funds can be paid either via direct deposit or check.
For more information, including how to apply and who is eligible, visit FEMA’s COVID-19 funeral assistance webpage.
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