Reply #9: FEMA said to be lax in funeral payouts

[Melissa G]

FEMA said to be lax in funeral payouts

DU discussion Here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x394815

By Sally Kestin

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Three of every four funeral claims paid by the federal government after last year's hurricanes in Florida covered deaths unrelated to any of the storms, a state review has concluded.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) gave families up to $7,500 each to bury or cremate loved ones whose deaths were supposed to be a direct result of one of the four hurricanes that struck the state last August and September.

But Florida's medical examiners reviewed 306 deaths approved by FEMA statewide and found that only 74 could be blamed on the storms. In the other 232 cases, the cause of death was suicide, unrelated accidents or natural ailments such as cancer, heart attacks or emphysema.

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FEMA's disaster-aid program has been under criticism since the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported last fall on $31 million going to residents of Miami-Dade County, one of the few areas of the state not hit by last year's hurricanes.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002517004_femabury24.html