The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shared more details about the COVID-19 funeral assistance program meant to help families who’ve suffered financial burden after losing loved ones to COVID-19, Queens and the Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer announced on Wednesday, March 24.
FEMA will help pay for the COVID-19-related funeral and burial costs families and individuals may have incurred as a result of the pandemic, as part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The assistance is set to a maximum of $9,000 per funeral, and a maximum of $35,500 per application.
FEMA will only award funeral assistance for a deceased individual on a single application. If multiple individuals contributed toward funeral expenses, they are advised to apply under a single application as applicant and co-applicant. An applicant may apply for multiple deceased individuals.
FEMA will also consider documentation from other individuals not listed as the applicant and co-applicant who may have sustained funeral expenses as part of the registration for the deceased individual.
An applicant must be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified undocumented immigrant, including asylees and refugees, who sustained funeral expenses after Jan. 20, 2020. The deceased individual’s documentation status is not considered as part of the reimbursement process, according to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s office.
Applicants are encouraged to begin gathering documentation for reimbursement, including a copy of the death certificate that attributes the death to COVID-19 (terms like “may have been caused by” or “was likely the result of” COVID-19 or COVID-19-like symptoms are acceptable) and shows that it occurred in the U.S. (including U.S. territories and the District of Columbia).
Other documentation needed are funeral expenses forms (such as receipts, funeral home contracts, among others) must include the applicant’s name, the deceased individual’s name, the amount of funeral expenses and dates the funeral expenses were incurred.
If applicants already received reimbursement for certain funeral expenses through government agencies, voluntary agencies, nonprofits, burial or funeral insurance, they are not allowed to resubmit those same expenses for reimbursement through the FEMA COVID-19 funeral assistance program. If applicants received outside assistance, documentation of that assistance must be included in their FEMA application.
If an individual received financial assistance through the deceased’s life insurance policy, they may still apply for reimbursement.
The application period to apply to FEMA’s COVID-19 funeral assistance will open nationwide in April. A deadline to apply for the assistance has not yet been established.
FEMA is also working to establish a 1-800 dedicated number with several different languages offered to help individuals apply for the program.
Senator Schumer and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez worked closely with FEMA to develop the relief program after establishing and extending it through the December and March COVID-19 packages.
“Too many families and friends across New York have paid the ultimate price with the tragic loss of their loved ones to the coronavirus. The economic upheaval and added financial strain of this pandemic makes the added cost of funerals and burials unbearable for so many who have already lost so much,” Senator Schumer said. “This historic use of FEMA’s funeral assistance program is much needed aid to those who need it most, and that is why Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and I worked so hard to deliver this with FEMA — and we got it done.”
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents some of the neighborhoods in both the Bronx and Queens that were hardest-hit by the pandemic, previously said the least they could do was push for financial assistance for millions of families across the country and thousands of New Yorkers who’ve lost loved ones due to the pandemic, following a “complete lack of adequate federal support” throughout it.
“This effort began over a year ago when community leaders in NY-14 flagged the disparate impact of COVID-19 in working-class areas, compounded with the devastating economic impact of funeral expenses,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I’m so relieved that soon our families will finally be able to access relief, and I’m grateful to FEMA for working with us to make this program inclusive, generous and easily accessible.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s office will be hosting its virtual monthly town hall on Monday, March 29, at 6:30 p.m., and will discuss the funeral assistance program and take questions from community members.
To find more information about the funeral assistance program, visit COVID-19 Funeral Assistance | FEMA.gov.
