§346-15  Burial of deceased medical orfinancial assistance recipients or unclaimed corpses.  (a)  The departmentof human services may bear the cost of the burial of deceased medical orfinancial assistance recipients or unclaimed corpses.  Burial services includethe customary mortuary, crematory, cemetery, and other services essential inproviding a dignified burial.

(b)  The department may pay for mortuary andcrematory services to be furnished by any licensed provider of mortuary andcrematory services.  Mortuary and crematory payments shall be made to theextent of cost, or in the sum of $400, whichever is less.

(c)  The department may pay for cemeteryservices, to be furnished by any licensed provider of cemetery services. Cemetery payments shall be made to the extent of cost, or in the sum of $400,whichever is less.

(d)  In cases where the decedent is survived byrelatives, the relatives shall be permitted to make their own arrangements forthe burial or cremation of their deceased relative.

(e)  The person submitting an application forfuneral payments under the department's funeral payment program, on behalf of adeceased medical or financial assistance recipient, shall have sixty days fromthe date of death of the deceased to submit the application for funeralpayments to the department.  This subsection shall not apply to applicationssubmitted by the respective county medical examiner or coroner on behalf ofunclaimed corpses.

(f)  All unclaimed corpses shall be cremated. The department of human services shall authorize the cremation of unclaimedcorpses.

(g)  A person or public or private agency,including the department of human services, shall not be liable for any damageor subject to criminal prosecution for any act done pursuant to and incompliance with this section.

(h)  For the purposes of this section,"unclaimed corpse" means the remains of any deceased person for whomno one has assumed responsibility for disposition of the body within fiveworking days, excluding weekends, from the date of death and about whom thedepartment and the respective county medical examiner or coroner have no actualknowledge of a legally responsible party.

(i)  The department shall adopt rules pursuantto chapter 91 for purposes of administering and implementing this section. [L1943, c 36, §1; RL 1945, §4828; am L 1945, c 161, §1; am L 1947, c 22, §1; am L1953, c 153, §4; RL 1955, §108-8; HRS §346-15; am L 1970, c 88, §1 and c 105,§5; am L 1976, c 177, §1; am L 1985, c 34, §1; am L 1987, c 339, §4; am L 1992,c 20, §1; am L 2000, c 101, §2; am L 2001, c 41, §2]

 

Cross References

 

  State responsibility, see §27-1.

 

Case Notes

 

  Duty of burial.  42 H. 500.