Families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 can apply to FEMA for reimbursement of up to $9,000 to cover funeral expenses.
When Wanda Olson’s son-in-law died in March after contracting COVID-19, she and her daughter had to grapple with more than just their sudden grief. They had to come up with money for a cremation.
“Had this not been available, we would have been paying the money ourselves,” said Olson, 80, of Villa Rica, Ga. “There wasn’t any red tape. This was a very easy, well-handled process.”As of Dec. 6, about 226,000 people had shared in the nearly $1.5 billion that FEMA has spent on funeral costs that occurred after Jan. 20, 2020, the date of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S.
The percentage of individuals who have been reimbursed varies dramatically from state to state — from nearly 40% in North Carolina and Maryland to fewer than 15% in Idaho and Oregon, according to state-by-state data compiled by FEMA. “Nine thousand dollars — that’s a lot of money. We wanted to find a way to tell people about it,” he said. “We stopped advertising some time ago, but when we have a new family with a death from COVID, we tell them about the program.”
“They’re much more likely to take advantage right then than if they’ve already spent the money and don’t want to open it up again,” Shipper said.The program has paid out more than 21,000 reimbursements in California and Texas, which have both reported more than 74,000 COVID-19 deaths. Residents applied for more than $141 million in each state.
The program has been funded using federal stimulus funds, and money remains available. No online applications are allowed.
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