If you have a loved one who died of Covid in 2020, the federal government will reimburse funeral and burial costs up to $7,000.
This $2 billion provision, advanced by Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was included in the $900 billion stimulus and COVID-19 relief bill, the Consolidated Appropriation Act.
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is expected to start taking applications for reimbursements in the next couple of months.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the national median cost for a funeral in 2019, including viewing and burial, was $7,640.
To apply you will need to provide:
- ID and documentation to show your relationship to the deceased.
- The death certificate must state cause of death as COVID-19.
- Receipts or verifiable estimates for the funeral and burial costs.
- Documentation of burial insurance and financial assistance from other sources.
For more information, contact FEMA. But note there is no application available to complete at this time. https://www.fema.gov/
Leader Schumer and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez are working to extend the reimbursements for deaths in 2021.
