[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00379]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Reimbursement for Caskets and Urns for Burial of Unclaimed 
Remains in a National Cemetery or a VA-Funded State or Tribal Veterans' 
Cemetery

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is updating the 
monetary reimbursement rates for caskets and urns purchased for the 
interment in a VA national cemetery or a VA-funded state or tribal 
veterans' cemetery of Veterans who die with no known next of kin and 
where there are insufficient resources for furnishing a burial 
container. The purpose of this notice is to notify interested parties 
of the rates that will apply to reimbursement claims that occur during 
calendar year (CY) 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane Kang, Program Analyst, National 
Cemetery Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420. Telephone: (202) 461-6216 (this is not 
a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2306(f) of title 38, U.S.C., 
authorizes VA National Cemetery Administration (NCA) to furnish a 
casket or urn for interment in a VA national cemetery or a VA-funded 
state or tribal veterans' cemetery of the unclaimed remains of Veterans 
for whom VA cannot identify a next of kin and determines that 
sufficient financial resources for the furnishing of a casket or urn 
for burial are not available. VA implemented regulations to administer 
this authority as a reimbursement benefit in section 38.628 of title 
38, Code of Federal Regulations.
    Reimbursement for a claim received in any CY will not exceed the 
average cost of a 20-gauge metal casket or a durable plastic urn during 
the fiscal year (FY) preceding the CY of the claim. Average costs are 
determined by market analysis for 20-gauge metal caskets, designed to 
contain human remains, with a gasketed seal, and external rails or 
handles. The same analysis is completed for durable plastic urns, 
designed to contain human remains, which include a secure closure to 
contain the cremated remains.
    Using this method of computation, in FY 2018, the average costs for 
caskets were determined to be $2,681 for caskets and $162 for urns. 
Accordingly, the maximum reimbursement rates payable for qualifying 
interments occurring during CY 2019 are $2,681 for caskets and $162 for 
urns.

Signing Authority

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or designee, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as 
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Robert L. 
Wilkie, Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs, approved this 
document on January 2, 2019, for publication.

    Dated: January 2, 2019.
Jeffrey M. Martin,
Assistant Director, Office of Regulation Policy & Management, Office of 
the Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2019-00379 Filed 1-30-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8320-01-P