Dying poor

Just how much should taxpayers be responsible for burial costs? Area funeral directors want an increase in fees from the County for those who cannot pay

The funeral director gets the call that a person has died. Immediately the director must arrange for the pick-up of the body, transport the deceased back to the funeral home and wait for the family's call to make arrangements.

It is not until family appears at the funeral home to discuss arrangements that the director discovers the deceased had little or no money to pay for a burial. The family too, claims they do not have the resources to pay.

In one such case recently a funeral director reportedly took the body back to the morgue, not wishing to get stuck for the costs incurred with a burial. Eyebrows were raised at a recent Board of Supervisor's Committee meeting when this was disclosed.

The Wayne County Department of Social Services (DSS) will make payments to funeral homes on those deemed “eligible” to receive help in the costs of burial. The Social Services Department must be notified within three business days of a death and the funeral director must submit detailed itemized costs.

Currently, the County has set an $1800 base reimbursement for funeral directors, that can be increased up to about $2400 with all the extras incurred in a burial. According to Wayne County Department of Social Services Director, Josh McCrossen, the average cost for a DSS burial runs about $2200.

According to Palmyra Funeral Director Robert Yost, the County burial schedule does not cover increasing costs. He cited one requirement of the County and cemeteries that a concrete vault must be used in all burials. According to Yost, the County reimburses the director a set fee of $360, but vaults are now costing about $410. He added that there are many more mandated facets to a burial that push the cost above where the County reimbursement rate is currently set. The County requires the publication in a newspaper of a single death notice.

There is also the cost of transportation. What if the deceased is not a Wayne County native and the family wants an internment at a distant, out-of-county cemetery. The County does allow for some transportation costs, but this may not cover a considerable distance from the County borders.

Last year, close to 100 people required DSS assistance in funeral costs, a figure that is on the rise and expected to increase more as the general population ages and the number of ‘poor' deaths increase.

One of the problems that both Yost and McCrossen said is at the crux of the problem is the lack of any planning on behalf of many people. A person who lives from paycheck to paycheck may have never planned, or set aside monies for an unanticipated funeral. Yost said there are insurance policies to cover funeral costs, that can run up to $6000, or more, but a person on a low, or fixed income never plans for the inevitable.

Monroe County recently instituted a set $1250 for a funeral preparation. The Funeral director must either get more money from the family of the deceased, or tell the family the only option is cremation. Even with the cremation option, the costs may be more than the cap Monroe County has set.

The cremation proposal brings up myriad concerns, especially in regards to a deceased, or family's religious or personal beliefs. To some families, cremation is simply not an option. Other related requirements, such as where the person is interred come to question. The current County agreement with area funeral directors states the burial must be in the least expensive grave site.

Yet another problem facing today's poor departed is the girth of the body. often a standard casket and grave liner will not hold overweight persons. There are now set provisions for just how much more the County will approve for oversize caskets and arrangements.

Chasing a dead person's assets to recover the cost of a funeral is another quagmire. According to McCrossen, the County spends considerable time and paperwork in determining if and how much reimbursement there should be in a DSS funeral.

Likewise, it often falls upon the funeral director to seize assets such as an automobile, then obtain the title and sell it. Both McCrossen and Yost agreed that neither are in the used car business, or want to chase down assets of the deceased.

Both McCrossen and Yost said that unfortunately, some people know how to work the DSS system and often hide a person's assets, either prior to, or after a death, then apply for taxpayer assistance in a burial.

McCrossen stated that New York State reimburses the County for indigent burial costs up to $900, or 50% if the total cost is less that $1800.

McCrossen questioned that if a family wants additional services and arrangements and can come up with that money, it should be applied to the actual base cost of a funeral.

In a document prepared for the County by area funeral directors, they noted:

One of the points raised in response to the funeral directors' request was - Is our contention that we are losing money on D.S.S. calls or is it a question of profit margin? On the surface it would appear that there is a reasonable profit margin, however if you consider the following it is clear that the margin is artificial. The numbers below are based on the actual figures for my funeral home last year. I determined a cost per item by dividing the annual expense by 35 (the average annual number of funerals for my firm). Of course, this will vary with each firm's annual volume and expenses. These numbers are very real and the fact is that if the costs per service aren't shared equally among all consumer families, then the “paying” families ultimately subsidize the D.S.S. family in addition to the subsidy they have already incurred as taxpayers.

Current reimbursement – 1800.00

Vault allowance – 360.00

Total reimbursement - 2160.00

Cost of goods and services per service:

1. casket ……………… 486.00

2. vault ……………….. 421.00

(as of Nov. 1)

3. lowering device …… 55.00

(required)

4. labor ……………… 235.00

(funeral service)

5. taxes …………… 314.00

(11,000 annual property tax

/35 funerals/year)

6. Insurance …………… 74.00

(2600.00 annual premium/

35 funerals per year)

7. utilities ……………… 392.00

(annual gas/electric, telephone,

water, trash/35 funerals/year)

8. Total cost per service . 1977.00

Profitability per Social Services Funeral:

Reimbursement – 2160.00

Cost per service – 1977.00

Profit per service - 183.00

Not included in cost of goods and services:

1. supplies (embalming chemicals; paper, ink)

2. labor for embalming, dressing & casketing body, removal

3. time involved in filing death certificate, social security report, etc.

4. fuel and vehicle costs

Both area funeral directors and the County are swirling ideas on how to address the rising costs and increase in the indigent funerals facing the future.

McCrossen is meeting with other county DSS directors to discuss the issue. He said there are three options for the future of the issue.

1. Keep the current agreement with County funeral homes in place.

2. Set a fixed fee the County is willing to pay, perhaps at $1500 and tell the family to cover any additional costs, or choose cremation.

3. Have County DSS burial contracts bid out on a yearly basis, with funeral homes in different geographical areas of the County awarded the contracts.

A coalition of area funeral homes has proposed the following:

Pursuant to a meeting of the Wayne County Board of Supervisors – Finance Committee, The Wayne County Department of Social Services Commissioner, Wayne County Veterans Service Agency Director and concerned Wayne County funeral directors, we submit the following proposed changes to the Indigent Burial Contract.

1. Eliminate the “not to exceed” language under paragraph 4, section 1 as it relates to the cost of a grave liner or oversized grave liner. Replace with “actual cost of least expensive grave liner available and required lowering device.” (receipts required)

2. Add language to provide for cost adjustment for an oversized casket when required.

3. Add to additional items under paragraph 2: the least expensive vault available, if required by cemetery, for burial of ashes. (receipt required)

4. Increase base rate for adult burials to $2000.00 to reflect increase in cost of least expensive casket available as well as increased cost of transportation and all other operating expenses since last rate adjustment in January 2003. (This would be a 1% increase over the last 4 years) *

5. Any cash or other resources (including $255.00 Social Security benefit) determined to be available for payment should be investigated and secured by the Department of Social Services rather than deducted from the payment to the funeral home. The funeral firm has no authority to investigate an individual's finances and no means to recover any resources discovered.

6. Language should be included requiring the Department of Social Services to provide a written statement when an application for indigent burial has been approved. In the case of an application which is denied, a statement detailing the reasons for denial should be provided.

* An increase in the base rate will allow funeral firms to provide a 20 gauge, non-sealed casket rather than the current cloth covered, press wood unit we are using. The steel casket will eliminate any potential liability of the County and/or funeral firm that may be incurred with the use of the cloth covered casket (potential for casket failure as the cloth covered is not structurally sound). The steel casket is also preferred for spring burials where the body must be held through the winter and the casket is vulnerable to deterioration from the elements.

Endorsed by:

1. Keith Benjamin –Norton Funeral Home, Colvin Norton Funeral Home, Colvin Robertson Norton Funeral Home

2. Tom Pusateri – Pusateri Funeral Home, Shultz-Pusateri Funeral Home, Boeheim-Pusateri Funeral Home

3. Robert Yost – Robert L. Yost Funeral Home, Inc.

4. Norm Waterman –Norman L. Waterman Funeral Home

5. James Norton - Norton Funeral Home, Colvin-Norton Funeral Home, Colvin-Robertson Norton Funeral Home

6. Bertha Canolesio – John R. Canolesio Funeral Home

7. Paul Murphy – Paul L. Murphy & Sons Funeral Home

8. John Murphy – Paul L. Murphy & Sons Funeral Home

9. David Murphy – Paul L. Murphy & Sons Funeral Home

10. Jake DeLyser – Stevens Funeral Home

12. Gordon Wise –Young Funeral Home

13. Bryan Keysor – Weeks-Keysor Funeral Home, Farnsworth-Keysor Funeral Home

14. Al Baris – Baris Funeral Home