Don Daniels, owner of Dunklin & Daniels Funeral Home, recently attended the 2013 National Funeral Directors Association Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C.

The summit brought together NFDA members from across the nation to meet face-to-face with members of Congress to discuss issues important to funeral service.

“The November 2012 elections brought more than 80 new members of Congress to our nation’s capitol and several pieces of legislation that our new and incumbent senators and representatives will work on have a direct impact on funeral service,” Daniels said. “Our funeral home staff has an unwavering commitment to the families we serves and our profession. I was proud to have the opportunity to meet with senators and representatives and their staffs to help them understand some of the key issues impacting funeral consumers and my profession.”

Daniels discussed several issues with his congressional representatives, such as how whether or not funds set aside by senior citizens to pay for funeral expenses should be treated as a financial asset.

Currently when determining a senior citizen’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), funds placed in an irrevocable trust to pay for funeral and burial expenses are not treated as a financial asset. Medicaid uses SSI’s definition of resources and exclusions for determining eligibility. Without these exclusions many SSI and Medicaid recipients would die without adequate funds for a dignified funeral and burial. Without these exclusions, state and local governments would be forced to allocate public funds to pay for expenses.

Members of the NFDA urged legislatures to preserve these exclusions.

The group also asked Congress to enact legislation requiring the federal government to develop and implement a national mass fatality management plan to ensure that the bodies of those who die as a result of pandemics or natural or man-made disasters are cared for in a dignified manner.