Many people consider funeral insurance, also referred to as burial insurance, to be much more expense than they will ever be worth, however, in a time when employment is unsecure, income is low, and savings have already withered to compensate for struggles during the global economic crisis, this protection can provide much needed assistance at a difficult time when no other help is available.
Budgets in counties and states are rapidly shrinking, and while low-income individuals who could once turn to them for assistance if they found themselves facing the unpleasant circumstance of burying an uninsured loved one, these options are typically no longer available.
That said, the number of bodies that are donated for medical research has also taken a significant dive. Last year, there were 483 cadavers donated to the Anatomical Gift Association (AGA), which, according to Paul Dudek, the executive vice president of the organization, is “not nearly enough.”
For this reason, county medical examiners, such as that in Cook County, are beginning to submit unclaimed cadavers to medical research. This is the result of an agreement between some county governments and organizations such as the AGA. In the case of Cook County, a person’s remains will be held for two weeks by the county before it will be donated to the AGA to be used for medical science.
Spokesperson Jessey Neves, for the Cook County Board president said that the county has a very small population and that the board waits a full two weeks before donating unclaimed remains. Should the family of the deceased disagree with the donation within that time, the donation is not made.
