Facts
Facts
When A Death Occurs
Because there may be some confusion as to what steps should be taken should a death occur, we have listed several situations below.
- Sudden or unexpected death at home or other private residence when a physician is not present should be immediately reported to the local law enforcement authorities and/or emergency medical personnel. When the police arrive, they will then notify the proper authorities for removal of the deceased. If you know which funeral home will be handling arrangements, you may tell the police and/or medical personnel. Depending on the circumstances of death, it may be required that the remains be first transported to, and/or released by the County Medical Examiner.
- When death at home is anticipated, the patient is generally under the care of Hospice. When the death occurs, Hospice will often facilitate many of the necessary steps, including contact with the funeral home of your choice.
- Should the death occur at a hospital or care home (nursing/convalescent), the medical staff should handle all necessary legal steps. If you know which funeral home will be handling arrangements, you may inform the medical staff. You will be required to complete pertinent legal release paperwork.
- Should the death occur out of state or even out of the country, you should contact the funeral home that will be handling arrangements. Most funeral homes will facilitate transportation of the deceased back home as well as ensure that all necessary arrangements are addressed.
The Funeral Director and the General Price List
When discussing funeral arrangements or funeral pre-arrangements, federal law requires the funeral director to provide you with a General Price List (GPL) of services. The GPL is a list of all services that the funeral home can provide. Once you have made the choices for the arrangements, you will also be given a Statement of Funeral Goods and Selected Services (SFGSS) which will list those charges and their charges.
The GPL covers all aspects of the funeral arrangements, including the professional services of the funeral director. These professional services include his or her basic services and those of the funeral home staff plus the option of other services, such as the preparation and care of the deceased.
The Differences Between SSI, Medicaid, and Medicare
Medicare is administered by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For more information, feel free to visit the Medicare website.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested federally administered income assistance program that provides monthly cash payments to the needed, aged, blind and disabled in accordance with uniform nationwide eligibility requirements. SSI is administered by HCFA under the U.S. HHS. The limit on countable resources for SSI eligibility is $2,000 per individual or $3,000 per couple. All irrevocable preneed funds are excluded and any revocable preneed funds of up to $1,500 for funeral expenses and unlimited burial space expenses per individual are excluded, with limited exceptions, for SSI eligibility purposes. For more information, feel free to visit the Social Security Administration's website.
Medicaid is a joint state-federal health insurance program for low-income individuals. Medicaid is administered by individual states with federal oversight and regulation by HCFA under the U.S. HHS. Currently, all resources placed in an irrevocable funeral fund (trust or insurance) are excluded when an individual applies for Medicaid. Resources exclusions for Medicaid eligibility under revocable preneed contracts are limited to $1,500 for funeral expenses and unlimited burial space expenses per individual. State Medicaid plans are currently linked to the federal SSI program because most individual state Medicaid Plans base their eligibility requirements upon the federal SSI eligibility criteria and others make their own state Medicaid determinations using federal SSI criteria. For more information, feel free to visit the Center for Medicaid Services website.
Death Certificates
Your funeral professional can help you complete the mandatory death certificate; he or she will also order more copies for you should you need them. The director will also provide guidance and assistance with information on when and where death certificates should be sent. Below, we have listed the various components of the death certificate to provide you with an idea of the information you may need to complete the form.
- Personal Information - This category includes the deceased name, sex, age, Social Security number, date of birth, birthplace, date of death, place of death (including the name of the institution or street address of the deceased’s home and whether deceased was an inpatient, dead on arrival, or emergency [if death was in a hospital]), municipality and county where death occurred (some states require information on whether the death was within city limits), deceased’s occupation ("retired" should not be specified), the kind of business or industry in which the deceased worked, and in some states, the place of the deceased’s employment.Also included is U.S. military service, marital status (married, never married, divorced, widowed), spouse’s name, deceased’s residence (including house number and street, city, country, and state), deceased’s race, deceased’s educational level, names of the deceased's parents including mother’s maiden name (some states also require information on parents’ places of birth), name of the person who informed authorities of the death, and, in some states, deceased’s country of citizenship.
- Information on Disposition - This category includes method of disposition (burial, cremation, mausoleum, removal from state, or donation), place of disposition (name of cemetery, crematory or other location), city and state in which the place of disposition is located, funeral director’s signature and license number (some states require the embalmer’s signature and license number as well), name and address of the respective funeral home and occasionally the funeral home’s license number.
- Cause of Death - This category usually requires completion by the certifying physician and includes immediate cause of death, information on the manner of death (natural, accidental, suicide, homicide, or undetermined), and whether the manner of death is cause for legal intervention or is pending investigation. If death is caused by an accident, information is also required on the date, time and place of the injury, and a description of how the accident occurred.