By McKenna McLean, JHBL Staff Member
“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.” – Nelson Mandela
In 2021, nearly 3.5 million deaths occurred in the United States.[1] At the same time, the median cost of a funeral rose to $7,848.[2] Even the median cost of a funeral with cremation, often considered a cheaper and more accessible alternative to burial, rose to $6,970.[3]
The Department of Transitional helps cover funeral and burial costs for Massachusetts residents, yet this assistance is only available if the total cost is less than $3,500.
While the death of a loved one is emotionally taxing enough, receiving a bill this large would financially devastate most American families. For those less privileged, especially the indigent and those without a family to lean on, paying such a bill is nearly impossible.
In Massachusetts, the Department of Transitional Assistance helps cover funeral, burial, and cremation costs for those who lived in Massachusetts at the time of their death.[4] Yet this assistance is capped at $1,100, and it is only applied if there is an outstanding bill at a funeral home that’s total does not exceed $3,500.[5] Furthermore, even if eligibility is established, the full payment of $1,100 is far from guaranteed. If the deceased held any sort of asset, whether it be a life insurance policy or even a joint savings account, that amount will be deducted from the $1,100 payment.[6] While these conditions were clearly imposed with the intent of reducing government expenditure, limiting fraudulent claims, and encouraging funeral homes to offer more affordable options to low-income families, these restrictions have rendered the program effectively useless.
Only a handful of funeral homes in Massachusetts are even willing to receive the bodies of the poor, homeless, or anonymous.[7] There is simply no financial incentive to do so, even with a contribution from the Department of Transitional Assistance. Why agree to cover the full cost of a burial in advance when you can’t even be guaranteed a return of $1,100? The funeral industry is an industry like any other. With an ever-increasing demand, there is little reason to ever decrease costs.
And what happens then, when nobody is willing to receive a body? The harsh reality could have serious public health implications. Medical Examiners can refuse a body, especially when overwhelmed or working through a backlog.[8] Police officers might even be stuck at a scene for hours on end, searching for just one funeral home willing to receive a body, which is increasingly difficult if the deceased has not been identified.[9] The same goes for hospitals or nursing homes. In some cases, a body may be released to next of kin, who are then faced with the challenge of securing a funeral home’s services when they know they cannot afford them.
Even if a funeral home is compassionate enough to receive such a body, there are still significant issues they are left to deal with. A simple cremation without a funeral in Massachusetts can cost around $2,500.[10] If a funeral home could cremate the bodies of the poor or anonymous, more funeral homes might be willing to receive them, as they wouldn’t have to cover as much of the cost. But under Massachusetts law, anonymous bodies may not be cremated, to avoid a situation in which a surviving family member eventually steps forward with a religious objection.[11] These bodies must be buried, forcing a funeral home to keep bodies for a longer period of time, and cover a greater portion of the cost themselves.[12]
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, this issue became increasingly relevant. In April 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began providing reimbursement to cover the costs of funerals, cremations, burials, and other associated expenses for those who died from COVID-19.[13] This FEMA cost assistance does have some significant restrictions, such as a medical examiner or coroner’s declaration that the death was caused by COVID-19. [14] But, unlike the Department of Transitional Assistance in Massachusetts, FEMA provides reimbursement for up to $9,000, without a cap on the total bill.[15] This number is much more comparable to the average cost, and is specifically designed to alleviate financial stress on surviving family members.[16]
There are also numerous private programs specifically dedicated to covering funeral costs for children, veterans, or victims of crime. In the wake of national tragedies, the most recent example being the Uvalde school shooting, celebrities often provide financial assistance to cover associated burial costs.[17] Such assistance is certainly needed, but what about those who don’t receive media attention, or those who don’t fall in a protected class? Endless charities work to ensure that the poor, the homeless, and the anonymous retain dignity in life, but virtually none work to ensure the same holds true in death.
In 2021, Massachusetts state legislators proposed that the financial assistance provided by the Department of Transitional Assistance be increased to $2,000, and the cap on total cost should be raised to $7,000.[18] Funeral directors argue that even just raising the cap, without actually increasing the $1,100 expenditure, could make all the difference for those in need.[19] Then, at least, more people may be able to take advantage of the state assistance offered to them, notwithstanding rising costs and the impact of inflation. But almost every year it seems, legislators bring forward a similar bill aiming to increase the cap, but no action is ever taken.
In order to “preserve the dignity” of the dead, funeral homes are willing to “take the financial hit.”[20] But the state, on the other hand, is not. By limiting cost assistance to those who have died from COVID, or those who have gained media attention, or those whose deaths society deems sufficiently tragic, are we not inherently holding some lives above others? The Department of Transitional Assistance’s policy, in its current state, is effectively useless. If nobody can secure a funeral home’s services for under $3,500, then nobody can secure cost assistance. Lawmakers’ unwillingness to raise this cap and allow the program to assist those who it was designed to is rooted in the way America fundamentally views poverty: while the poor may be worthy of charity in life, dignity in death is reserved for those who can afford it.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7117e1.htm#suggestedcitation
[2] https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/6182/2021-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-funeral-costs-not-rising-as-fast-as-rate-of-inflation
[3] Id.
[4] https://www.mass.gov/funeral-and-burial-payment-assistance
[5] https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVII/Chapter117A/Section9
[6] https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/02/can_you_have_a_funeral_for_jus.html
[7] Id.
[8] https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/02/when_poor_people_die_who_buries_them.html
[9] Id.
[10] https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/02/can_you_have_a_funeral_for_jus.html
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] https://www.fema.gov/disaster/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20210324/fema-help-pay-funeral-costs-covid-19-related-deaths
[17] https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/34277267/bo-jackson-helped-pay-funerals-19-children-2-teachers-killed-school-massacre-uvalde-texas
[18] https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H182/Cosponsor
[19] https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/02/can_you_have_a_funeral_for_jus.html
[20] https://www.heraldnews.com/story/news/2018/03/09/unclaimed-dead-piling-up-in/12952548007/
McKenna McLean is a second-year student at Suffolk University Law School and a staff member on the Journal of Health and Biomedical Law. McKenna graduated from Hamilton College in 2021 with a degree in History. Her legal interests include real estate, sports law, and criminal litigation.