A newly proposed state law under consideration this week in Pierre would specify cremation as an option in handling remains of an indigent, but skeptics fear the change would let counties insist on cremation as the only option.
The discussion comes as counties scramble to cut budgets and as demand for social assistance rises in urban areas such as Sioux Falls. Counties, by law, must cover costs if someone dies without money and no family member is able or willing to step up to help. In Minnehaha County, funeral assistance doubled the past six years. The cost last year, about $200,000, was $60,000 over budget.
Switching from casket to cremation would save $500 to $1,200 per funeral and go a long way toward covering that deficit, said Rep. Bob Deelstra, a Republican from Hartford and sponsor of House Bill 1066.
“I think it is a good place to save money,” Deelstra said.
Cremation now is the outcome in about 30 percent of the 7,000 deaths in South Dakota each year. Many church denominations, which once opposed it or kept the issue at arm’s length, now endorse it. But as it grows more common, cremation also touches a nerve. Some cultures and religions forbid it, and families often would simply prefer burial.
House Bill 1066 would insert the word cremation into portions of state law on county funerals, some of which date to 1939, before cremation was common. Counties now use cremation if families agree, so the law would be acknowledging a practice already in place .
“I think this provides clarification,” said Carol Muller, director of human services in Minnehaha County.
But it also would let counties dictate the choice. Minnehaha County used cremation in 55 of 85 funerals it paid for last year, a 65 percent rate that more than doubles the rate of the overall population. Those 55 were family choices, Muller said, while the other 30 were funerals with traditional burial in a casket. The county would hope that in the future they all would be cremations.
“If we in Minnehaha County provide the service, cremation would be the option we would pay for,” Muller said.
“Cremation has become much more acceptable to many families,” Muller added.
The downside of the change is that not everyone agrees.
“We recognize for some people the concept of cremation is something they’re not comfortable with,” Muller said. If someone objects, she said, “that’s going to have to be something we address.”
Tim Wingen, funeral director at Miller Funeral Home, said the county is picking a bad place to save money. A surprising number of people oppose cremation, and this could add to grief.
“It’s not a waste. It’s a need. That’s the thing about death. It’s not voluntary,” Wingen said.
He said funeral homes are happy to provide the service for indigents, and do so below cost, whether cremation or casket, but this becomes a community issue.
“I’m all for saving money, but this is forcing people to do something they don’t believe in,” Wingen said.
Phil Schmitz, manager at George Boom Funeral Home, said the county is juggling its own post-recession budget issues with an increasingly complex population. The law requires a spouse or close kin to take responsibility but it allows distant relations and friends to step in as well.
“We’re starting to see more people who have the ability to pay for a funeral but choose not to,” Schmitz said. “If people abdicate responsibility but still try to dictate what they want, I don’t think that’s the way it should be.”
His concern is families that have no money but oppose the practice.
“If you try to dictate cremation to them, you’re going to have a problem,” Schmitz said. “I’ve never seen that happen here. We’re small-town America. People still have feelings.”
Minnehaha and Pennington counties together spent $286,000 on indigent burials in 2010, or 55 percent of the state total of $518,000. Pennington officials have little interest in pushing cremation . “If it passes, I don’t see it being implemented in Pennington. I can’t see it for the hassle it would create,” said Ron Buskerud, a county commissioner in Rapid City.
Cindy Heiberger, a Minnehaha County commissioner, favors the change as a cost saver. The county would work out details.
“The commission will have to have a discussion about it,” she said.
Full-service funerals can run $7,000 to $10,000 in Sioux Falls. A cremation with no funeral can run $2,900, Wingen said. The practice involves burning a body four hours at 1,800 degrees inside a chamber, then presenting the family a container with 8 to 10 pounds of bone ash. If a family elects to have the deceased lie in state beforehand, with the body in a casket for visitation and a memorial service, that can push cremation above $4,000.
Indigent services come at a discount. Minnehaha County pays $2,250 for a funeral plus about $1,000 for a protective liner and opening and closing the grave.
The county pays $2,250 for a cremation or 54 percent of the billed charge, whichever is less.
SOURCE: http://www.argusleader.com/article/20120129/NEWS/301290018/Option-trim-funeral-costs-indigents-meets-some-resistance
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