Does Medicare Cover Funeral Expenses?
When a loved one passes away, families often face difficult financial decisions about how to cover funeral services and/or cremation. Many wonder if Medicare will help with these costs.
While Medicare provides important healthcare and income support during life, these benefits end at death. So Medicare doesn’t cover any funeral costs.
Planning ahead through funeral pre-payment, savings, or life insurance can help families manage these expenses. Here’s what you need to know.
Key Takeaways
Medicare doesn’t offer a death benefit to cover end-of-life expenses.
Social Security offers a one-time death benefit of $255. Survivor benefits, available to a spouse or children, can also be used for funeral expenses.
Other options to support a funeral include life insurance, prepaid funeral plans, burial funds, Veterans benefits, DHS benefits, disaster compensation (for COVID-19 deaths), and crowdfunding.
How much do funerals cost?
According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the median cost of a funeral with burial is $8,300. The median cost of a funeral with cremation is $6,280. Cremation without a funeral will be much less.
Costs vary based on location as well as the services a funeral home provides, the urn or casket used, cremation costs, cemetery plot costs, burial expenses, headstones, and more. Families may also arrange for a reception, memorial services, or celebrations of life—all of which would add to the total cost.
What does Medicare pay when someone dies?
Medicare coverage pays for health care. Medicare will only pay for medical services and prescriptions provided before someone passes away. This includes any hospital stays, doctor visits, or medications that were ordered while the person was still living.
Medicare offers no death benefit to cover end-of-life expenses such as cremations, embalming, a casket or urn, funeral services, a burial plot, or a headstone.
The Medicare Part A hospice benefit does include bereavement counseling for families who have lost a loved one. Families can receive this counseling through their hospice program for up to a year after their loved one's passing.
Will Social Security pay for funeral expenses?
Social Security does not pay for funeral, cremation, or burial costs. However, it does offer a one-time death benefit that either a surviving spouse or child can claim. Friends, relatives, roommates, and others who may pay for funeral expenses cannot collect the payment.
How long does it take to get the Social Security death benefit?
For surviving children and spouses to collect the death benefit, they must apply to the Social Security Administration (SSA). This can be done online or by calling the Social Security Administration office toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 or contacting your local office using the number on the Social Security Office Locator.
Survivors must also submit documents, such as:
The deceased's Social Security number
A death certificate
Marriage certificate (if applicable)
Birth certificates of dependent children
Once the SSA receives the application and documentation, processing the claim takes a few weeks.
Social Security also offers survivor benefits to spouses or children that they may use for funeral expenses, but the funds are not intended to be a death benefit.
Who should be notified when someone dies?
The funeral home will ask for the deceased's Social Security number so personnel can notify Social Security of a death. While the SSA will generally inform Medicare automatically to stop health benefits, family members must also separately notify Medicare, Medicare supplement insurance plans (Medigap), Medicare Advantage plans, and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans to ensure the billing stops.
A family member can also contact Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE. This notification must be done by phone or in person, not via email or online at medicare.gov.
When the death certificate has been received, Social Security will need a copy.
Does Medicaid help with funeral expenses or cremation?
Medicaid rules vary by state, but specific programs, not directly tied to Medicaid, may offer funeral assistance subject to certain qualifications and availability of funds. Additionally, some states and cities provide aid for funeral expenses through separate welfare programs.
Since rules and available assistance can change frequently, it's advisable to consult your state's official website for the most current information if you are planning a funeral and need financial help.
How can individuals prepare for funeral expenses?
As with any major expense, it is always advisable to plan ahead. Some common ways of covering funeral expenses include:
Cash savings: Put aside to cover unexpected or end-of-life expenses.
Life insurance: Designated as payable to a funeral home or another beneficiary who will pay for the funeral expenses. Family members or the funeral home must contact the insurance company to access the funds.
Prepaid funeral plans: Ensuring funeral costs are paid in advance, either as a lump sum or in installments.
Burial funds: Create an account titled as a burial fund with a bank or a funeral home, and maintain up to $1,500 each for a person and their spouse. If you receive Supplemental Security Income, this amount or any interest gained from it will not count as a resource.
Payable-on-death accounts: Allow banks to automatically transfer to a designated beneficiary when the account owner dies.
Final expense insurance: A type of insurance policy that pays for a funeral and all other end-of-life expenses.
Funeral loans: Personal loans that those paying for the funeral use to cover funeral-related expenses.
What other options are there for paying for funeral expenses?
For those who need financial assistance to bury a loved one, programs may be available to help cover special circumstances.
Veterans benefits: Veteran burial assistance may be available through the Department of Veterans Affairs. If the death is related to their service, the VA will provide up to $2,000 toward burial expenses. If the death is not service-related, the VA will provide up to $978 for funeral and burial expenses or toward plot interment.
Department of Human Services (DHS) benefits: The DHS in some states may help pay for cremation or burial services for citizens facing financial hardship. The amount of funding available depends on state resources and budget availability. Any payments from the DHS are typically made directly to the funeral director.
Charitable organizations: Local churches and charitable organizations may have burial funds available to help people in need.
Funeral fundraising: Funding through services like GoFundMe can help families get donations for what they need for their funeral plans.
Disaster compensation: If you have lost a loved one to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help with uninsured funeral costs for immediate family members.
Speak with a Medicare expert
Have more questions about what Medicare does and doesn’t cover? Speak with one of our independent Medicare Advisors, who are eager to help you understand your coverage and how to get the most out of Medicare. Get in touch by calling us at (855) 900-2427 or picking a time to chat.