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Medical examiner raises cremation fee after cost analysis
Summary
The medical examiner's office proposed raising its cremation fee after an internal cost analysis found the previous charge did not cover direct expenses; officials said the increase still does not fully recover total costs to limit burden on families.
Robert Hall, finance manager for clinical services and the Office of the Medical Examiner, said staff performed a cost analysis and concluded the cremation fee did not cover the office's direct expenses. Hall presented an increase and said the department deliberately did not set the fee at full cost recovery to keep the service more affordable.
"We did an extensive analysis," Hall told the hearing, adding that the recommended fee would not fully recuperate the full per-case cost but would reduce the department's subsidy. Committee members asked whether the analysis included indirect costs; Hall said the cited figure reflected direct costs only and that the full cost estimate would have been higher.
