Bruso Desnoyers Funeral Services May be stealing money from Medicaid ripoff Malone New York

I have been in funeral service for 14 years and hold a license as a funeral director/embalmer in several states. You are correct that most of the time, the funds are forwarded to the funeral homes whether the individual has prearrangements or not. When a deceased does not have prearrangements and the family has no money for final expenses, the state requires that any money the deceased has be used to offset the burial expenses before the state will help pay anything. Most states do not allow for cremation of an indigent person unless the family requests it.

Therefore, the funeral home must provide casket, outer burial container, transportation and services of the staff and funeral director, and in many instances, burial space. The county in which the death occurred pays a minimal amount, if anything, to the funeral home (in my experience, I've seen some counties give nothing, but never more than $500. It is a fixed amount). Most areas do not have an indigent cemetery so space has to be used in private cemeteries.

When it comes to prearranged funerals, there are so many different options of funding that it is hard to say how much the funeral home will receive. Some plans guarantee the cost of the funeral will be covered in the future while others do not. If they do not, the family has to pay the difference. Even if the funeral and merchandise itself is guaranteed, there are costs that, even if prepaid to the funeral home, can not be. These costs include items that the funeral home has no control over the future pricing. These are called cash advances.

Examples include obituaries, flowers, cemetery opening & closing of graves (a note about cemeteries will follow), and death certificates just to name a few. You are correct that most of these plans earn interest; however, the interest is designed to keep up with the funeral homes costs for that funeral in the future.

In other words, it should grow enough to cover the cost of the funeral at the current price at the time of death. We usually turn in a statement to the holder of the trust or the insurance company for the current charges at today's price. If the money is there to cover the costs, we get the amount that the bill is for. Any extra goes to the family or they can designate it to pay the extra cash advance items. If the amount is less and the price is guaranteed, we legally can not charge the family any more.

Unfortunately, many of these funding companies have not been able to sustain the promised interest rates, which means more often that not, the funeral home is actually taking a loss on a guaranteed prepaid funeral. If we guarantee it, we can not charge the family more to cover the cost. What happens is funeral homes are forced to raise their "at-need" prices to recoup this loss, and the cycle continues. Every time the market struggles, prearranged funeral accounts suffer.

A word on cemeteries: Many families believe that if they have paid for the cemetery space and headstone/marker at the cemetery, everything is covered. Many are shocked to find out that the cemetery has a charge for opening & closing the grave (digging the grave, setting up tent & chairs, filling in the grave) and a fee for the death date on the headstone. Many cemeteries opening and closing fees are in excess of $1000.00 for ground burials and a little less for mausoleums, depending where you live. The death date can be up to $200.00.

Many families I have served paid less than that for an entire family plot (six or more graves). Cemeteries never used to offer the Opening & Closing on a pre-need basis. This was a way to generate future income for the cemetery. It has to be paid or the burial doesn't happen. This fee usually goes up yearly by $100 or so.

Recently, many states have passed laws that require a cemetery to offer prepayments on this charge and to guarantee the price for the future. Families should ask the cemetery if they can prepay this fee and if it locks in the price. If any family has prepaid opening and closing through a funeral home as a cash advance (which was not uncommon a few years ago) the opening and closing is not locked in. Contact the cemetery and inquire about prepaying this charge through them. Leave the money with the funeral home since many preplanned contracts have fees for cancellation. It could cost much more than just leaving the $ where it is and using it at the time of death for other cash advanced items that have increased.

As you can see, we have no control of certain charges. I do not know of any funeral homes that are ripping off any government agencies. The ones that might be crooks will eventually be caught, lose their license, and face criminal charges.

Most funeral professionals are caring, decent people who only want to help. I hope this helps clear things up for you. We don't need families getting upset over nothing. If they or you have questions please ask the right people. Families have the right to review their accounts at any time and are given that information when they make prearrangements. It is ultimately their responsibility to monitor their accounts. Would you make an investment and never look at it again? I doubt it. Again, hope this helps!