Photo Courtesy of Sen. Schumer’s Office
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have announced the launch of the FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Hotline.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The Federal Emergency Management Administration hotline to help pay for the funeral and burial of COVID-hit families that cannot afford them launched on Monday, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens and Bronx).
The FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Hotline is (844) 684-6333.
As The Forum reported in February, through the COVID relief deal, financial aid will be provided to those that have lost loved ones to COVID-19 to help cover funeral costs. Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez said the need for this special funeral assistance was beyond urgent as tens of thousands of New Yorkers have tragically passed away due to COVID-19 and many families are struggling to pay for funerals and burials, which on average cost $7,000.
Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez explained on Monday in Corona that they were able to increase the maximum financial assistance to $9,000 per funeral. Additionally, FEMA will only award COVID-19 Funeral Assistance for a deceased individual on a single application. If multiple individuals contributed toward funeral expenses, they should register under a single application as applicant and co-applicant. The applicant or co-applicant must have incurred the funeral expenses. The deceased individual’s documentation status is not considered as part of the reimbursement process, but the applicant(s) must be U.S. citizens, legal residents, asylees, refugees, or non-citizen nationals.
Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez explained that now is the time for families to decide who the applicant and any co-applicants will be and to gather the documents they need to be reimbursed for expenses.
Specifically, the applicant must provide the following documents:
1) a copy of the death certificate. 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. Similar phrases that indicate a high likelihood of COVID-19 are also considered sufficient.
2) proof of funeral expenses incurred. 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 Jan. 20, 2020.
Eligible funeral expenses include but are not limited to:
- Transportation for up to two individuals to identify the deceased individual
- Transfer of remains
- Casket or urn
- Burial plot or cremation niche
- Marker or headstone
- Clergy or officiant services
- Arrangement of the funeral ceremony
- Use of funeral home equipment or staff
- Cremation or interment costs
- Costs associated with producing and certifying multiple death certificates
- Additional expenses mandated by any applicable local or state government laws or ordinances.
It is important to coordinate with friends, family members, and anyone else who incurred an expense on who will submit the claim. FEMA will only accept one claim per deceased individual so it is vitally important everyone who helped cover the funeral and cemetery expenses work together on one application and wait until all the expenses have been incurred.
If applicants already received reimbursement for certain funeral expenses through government agencies, voluntary agencies, non-profits, burial or funeral insurance, they cannot resubmit those same expenses for reimbursement through this FEMA-administered program. If you received any outside assistance, you must include documentation of this assistance in your application. If you received financial assistance through the deceased’s life insurance policy, you may still apply for reimbursement.
The hotline reportedly received more than one million calls on Monday alone.
