[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 245 (Monday, December 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73412-73413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27947]


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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 
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) 2022.

DATES: This notice is effective January 1, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Sowders, National Cemetery 
Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 4850 Lemay Ferry Road, 
Saint Louis, MO, 63129. The telephone number is 314-416-6369. This is 
not a toll-free number.

[[Page 73413]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2306(f) of title 38, United States 
Code, authorizes VA's National Cemetery Administration 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 established regulations to administer 
this authority as a reimbursement benefit in 38 CFR 38.628.
    In accordance with the regulation, 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, as determined by VA.
    Average costs are based on market price analysis and previous year 
actual reimbursements 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 approach, in FY 2021, the average costs were determined 
to be $1,362.00 for caskets and $120.00 for urns. Accordingly, the 
maximum reimbursement rates payable for qualifying interments occurring 
during CY 2022 are $1,362.00 for caskets and $120.00 for urns.

Signing Authority

    Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, approved this 
document on December 20, 2021, 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.

Luvenia Potts,
Regulation Development Coordinator, Office of Regulation Policy & 
Management, Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2021-27947 Filed 12-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P