Chapter 6: The Funeral Rule 3 CE Hours
Learning outcomes After completing this course, the learner will be able to: Understand the guidelines for the General Price List (GPL). List the information needed on the Casket Price List (CPL). Course overview Along with an understanding of state and local laws, it is vital for funeral professionals to be familiar with the federal government’s Funeral Rule. This course will assist the funeral
Describe the requirements of the Outer Burial Container (OBC) Price List. List the misrepresentations prohibited by the Rule.
provider in complying with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) Funeral Rule.
FUNERAL INDUSTRY PRACTICES REVISED RULE INTRODUCTION
the General Price List (GPL), the Casket Price List (CPL), the Outer Burial Container (OBC) Price List, and the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected. The guidelines also include sample price lists and a sample itemized statement form. These guidelines represent the FTC staff’s view of what the law requires. They are not binding on the Commission. As mentioned above, in October of 2022, the FTC announced that it was planning to update the Funeral Rule (Funeral Consumers Alliance, 2022). One of the proposed changes would be that funeral homes with a website would have to post their General Price List on the site (Benincasa, 2020; Funeral Consumers Alliance, 2022). The FTC is also considering clarifications in disclosures about consumers’ right to decline embalming, along with a change in the way funeral homes advertise cremation prices (including costs from third-party crematories). The FTC is exploring updates concerning new alternative disposal methods, the readability of price lists, reduced basic fee services, and the avoidance of negative effects on underserved communities (Farmer, 2023; Stalter, 2022). One question being pondered, for example, is whether establishments should be required to provide price lists in languages other than English in any circumstances (Justia, 2023). can also be “funeral providers” if they market both funeral goods and services. You must comply with the Rule even if a particular consumer buys only goods or only funeral services, but not both. If you offer to sell both goods and services, you must comply with the Rule for every customer. However, you are not covered by the Rule if you sell only funeral goods, such as caskets, but not services relating to the disposition of remains. You are covered by the Rule even if you organize your business to sell goods through one company and services through another. If you are a funeral provider, you cannot avoid being covered by the Rule by restructuring your business.
Along with an understanding of state and local laws, it is vital for funeral professionals to be familiar with the federal government’s Funeral Rule. This course will assist the funeral provider in complying with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) Funeral Rule. The Funeral Rule went into effect on April 30, 1984. The Commission revised the Rule early in 1994 (Adams & Nerlinger, 2022; FTC, n.d.); revisions became effective later that year. In 2022, the FTC once again proposed amendments to the Funeral Rule. The Funeral Rule requires you to give consumers accurate, itemized price information and various other disclosures about funeral goods and services. In addition, the Rule prohibits you from: ● Misrepresenting legal, crematory, and cemetery requirements; ● Embalming for a fee without permission; ● Requiring the purchase of a casket for direct cremation; ● Requiring consumers to buy certain funeral goods or services as a condition for furnishing other funeral goods or services; and ● Engaging in other deceptive or unfair practices. If you violate the Funeral Rule, you may be subject to penalties of up to $50,120 per violation. These guidelines do not amend or modify the Rule. They explain the requirements of the revised Funeral Rule and discuss how to prepare documents required by the Rule — Who must comply with the Funeral Rule? All funeral providers must comply with the Rule. You are a funeral provider if you sell or offer to sell both funeral goods and funeral services to the public. Funeral goods are all products sold directly to the public in connection with funeral services. Funeral services are: ● Services used to care for and prepare bodies for burial, cremation, or other final disposition; and ● Services used to arrange, supervise, or conduct the funeral ceremony or final disposition of human remains. You are a funeral provider if you sell or offer to sell funeral goods and both types of funeral services. You do not have to be a licensed funeral director and your business does not have to be a licensed funeral home to be covered by the Funeral Rule. Cemeteries, crematories, and other businesses
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Book Code: FTX1625
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