Issues 28 through 31 of the FTC Funeral Rule notice concern the embalming disclosure. Consumer advocates are pressing to have the Funeral Rule be more specific about when state law does or does not require embalming. For states that require embalming under certain circumstances, consumer advocates want the GPL to reference the state law and set out the circumstances when embalming is required. Consumer advocates also want funeral providers to disclose whether they possess refrigeration units, and if they do not, advocates want a disclosure about the availability of third party refrigeration and their fees.
Consumer advocates have found that in states without embalming requirements, funeral providers frequently adopt policies regarding when their services will be conditioned upon embalming. Following the advocate’s recommendation, Issue 30 asks why such policies should not be required to be disclosed.
For funeral providers operating near a state line, the FTC suggests that the provider may be required to disclose the embalming requirements for all states in which it operates. That seems to beg the question how the FTC will interpret when a funeral home operates in the nearby state. Take the Kansas City, Missouri funeral home that sees regular business from Kansas City, Kansas. Does that constitute ‘operating’ in Kansas, and thus disclosure of both states embalming requirements? Or, does operation in a state require a facility in that state?