FEMA planning COVID-19 funeral cost reimbursement program

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is expected to launch a program next month to reimburse families for the costs of funerals for loved ones who died as a result of COVID-19.  

FEMA’s acting administrator, Bob Fenton, announced the program on Tuesday during a hearing with the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee, noting that it will include a toll-free number for families  to apply for the assistance.

Fenton said the agency decided against an online registration system because it wants to show empathy for applicants.

“With empathy being the priority, we want to be able to case manage and have that human-to-human interaction as we do this and make sure that we do it in a way that supports everyone’s needs,” Fenton told the committee.

He said FEMA is currently focused on training staff for the call center and finalizing policy associated with the program. Fenton also noted that though the agency has handled funeral assistance stemming from disasters before, this will be the first time FEMA has taken on the task at such a large scale.

More than 536,400 deaths related to the coronavirus have been reported in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.