§346-15  Burial of deceased medical or
financial assistance recipients or unclaimed corpses.  (a)  The department
of human services may bear the cost of the burial of deceased medical or
financial assistance recipients or unclaimed corpses.  Burial services include
the customary mortuary, crematory, cemetery, and other services essential in
providing a dignified burial.



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



(c)  The department may pay for cemetery
services, 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 by
relatives, the relatives shall be permitted to make their own arrangements for
the burial or cremation of their deceased relative.



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



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



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



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



(i)  The department shall adopt rules pursuant
to chapter 91 for purposes of administering and implementing this section. [L
1943, c 36, §1; RL 1945, §4828; am L 1945, c 161, §1; am L 1947, c 22, §1; am L
1953, 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.