June 11, 2018 

Typically, when a funeral home has been shopped by an undercover enforcement agent twice and found to be in violation of the Funeral Rule on both occasions, it receives a letter from the FTC stating when they were shopped and the nature of the alleged violations with which they are being charged. The letter also details their options: chiefly face a lawsuit in federal court or enroll in the remedial three-year Funeral Rule Offender Program.

Historically, these letters have not included – nor has the FTC been willing to disclose – the name(s) of the employee(s) who dealt with the undercover shoppers.

NFDA has now learned that the FTC will, upon request, disclose the names of employee(s) who dealt with the undercover shoppers.

NFDA members who have questions may contact NFDA’s General Counsel Scott Gilligan, 800-228-6332.  

Did you know that as a member of NFDA, you have a new, exclusive option for health insurance coverage? You do – NFDA Health Insurance Options offers exclusive savings only for NFDA members!

For employers, finding a health insurance plan for employees that offers good coverage, is affordable and complies with the Affordable Care Act can be exceptionally challenging. The task is particularly tough for small employers.

Through NFDA Health Insurance Options, employers of any size can work with a dedicated customer service representative to explore alternatives to coverage they may currently offer to employees. With options for small groups, members could experience exclusive annual premium savings of five to 15 percent.

NFDA Health Insurance Options not only offers savings available only to NFDA members but also has dedicated experts who will help you understand your best options.

If an employer chooses to adopt a new health insurance plan, a personal customer service representative will assist with making a smooth transition for everyone.

Health insurance plans and offerings vary by state, so it is important that you look at options available in your state.

More information about the NFDA Health Insurance Options program is available online, www.nfda.org/endorsedproviders. There, interested owners or managers can reach out to their personal customer service representative and get a complimentary comparison of their current health insurance plan with the options available in their state.

Over the past two years, NFDA has issued warnings to funeral homes regarding the operations of Heritage Cremation Providers, an internet middleman that holds itself out to the public as a locally-owned and trusted funeral home providing low-cost cremation services. In fact, Heritage Cremation Providers is an unlicensed seller of funeral and cremation services with a long track record of consumer fraud and abuse. State Funeral Boards in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Oregon and Tennessee have all taken action against Heritage Cremation Providers; however, because Heritage Cremation Providers can hide behind the internet, it is virtually impossible for a state board to be able to shut it down. Despite efforts of state regulators, they continue to peddle low-cost cremation services to the public through its website.

Because of warnings issued by NFDA and state funeral associations, in addition to efforts by state funeral boards to prohibit funeral homes and crematories from providing services to Heritage Cremation Providers, many funeral homes have refused to enter into agreements with Heritage Cremation Providers to service families.

It appears that the warnings by NFDA and others have had an effect because we just learned that Heritage Cremation Providers has adopted a new subterfuge in contacting funeral homes to provide services to them. An NFDA member in New Hampshire informed NFDA that it was contacted over the last several weeks by a Colorado funeral home operating under the name of “Families First Funeral Homes.” After receiving several calls, the New Hampshire funeral home became suspicious and reviewed closely the paperwork that it had received from Families First Funeral Home. Buried in the paperwork were several written listings of “Heritage Cremation Providers.” Apparently, when Heritage Cremation Providers decided to disguise itself as Families First Funeral Home, it overlooked several references to Heritage Cremation Providers in its own paperwork.

Upon discovering the discrepancies, the member in New Hampshire notified NFDA and we have been able to confirm that Families First Funeral Home LLC is a limited liability company organized in Colorado. In addition, NFDA was able to verify that the contact agent for Families First Funeral Homes LLC listed with the Office of the Colorado Secretary of State is Anthony J. Damiano. Of course Anthony J. Damiano, also known as A.J. Damiano, is one of the owners and operators of Heritage Cremation Providers.

While NFDA members who receive calls to provide cremation services for Families First Funeral Home or Heritage Cremation Providers know to refuse those requests, it is highly probable that Heritage Cremation Providers will simply adopt a series of new aliases and fictitious trade names to disguise its actual identity. For that reason, funeral homes should always investigate when they receive a request for services from out-of-state funeral homes that they are not familiar with. If you have not previously dealt with a particular out-of-state funeral home, ask for its contact information and confirm through NFDA’s website, state board licensing listings and funeral home directories that it is an operating funeral home. Since nearly every funeral home has a website, this will be helpful in confirming who owns and operates the funeral home that is requesting you to provide cremation services.

NFDA members with questions regarding this matter may contact Scott Gilligan at 513-871-6332 or scott@gilliganlegal.com.

by T. Scott Gilligan, NFDA general counsel 

In 2016, a class action suit was filed against Stericycle claiming that the company had defrauded small-business customers by engaging in a billing scheme that automatically inflated consumer bills up to 18% biannually. 

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 246,000 small businesses, which included funeral homes, dentists, veterinarians and other business owners. 

Following the filing of the litigation and discovery, a settlement was reached between Stericycle and the attorneys for the class. Under the settlement, Stericycle agreed to discontinue the pricing practices that were the subject of the complaint. In addition, Stericycle agreed to a $295 million settlement. 

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved the settlement and Stericycle began to reimburse the impacted customers the amounts they had been overbilled. 

According to Scott Gilligan, NFDA general counsel, association members have received reports that funeral homes that were customers of Stericycle have begun to receive checks from Stericycle for their share of the settlement.

Brookfield,Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is bringing excitingchanges to its live education opportunities in 2019, from engaging, freewebinars to lower-priced CE opportunities and much more. There’s never been abetter time for funeral professionals to learn with NFDA.

Thenew NFDA Virtual Roundtables offer an exciting and interactive way to earncontinuing education hours. Featuring live video discussions with theprofession’s most insightful authorities on topics that impact funeralprofessionals and their business, NFDA Virtual Roundtables offer a more dynamiclearning experience than the traditional webinar. NFDA Virtual Roundtables alsoenable participants to ask the experts on their most pressing questions.

NFDAVirtual Roundtables, which will be one to two hours in length, come with moreaffordable pricing – $99 for NFDA members and $149 for nonmembers.

Thefirst NFDA Virtual Roundtables open for registration are:

·        January24, 1-2 p.m. CT (1 CE): CoffeeHour with the Cremation Experts with Mike Nicodemus, NFDA vicepresident of cremation services; Sammy G. Oakey III, president of Oakey’s FuneralServices and Crematory; and Adam Sanden, partner at Brunner Sanden DeitrickFuneral Home & Cremation Center.

·        February20, 1-2:30 p.m. CT (1.5 CE): LingeringLiability – Inside the Cemetery with Mark Evely, director of theMortuary Science Program at Wayne State University; and Tanya Marsh, professorof law at Wake Forest University School of Law.

Dates,topics and presenters for future NFDA Virtual Roundtables, which will addresstopics such as community outreach, death cafes, the FTC Funeral Rule andtechnical skills, will be announced throughout the year.

NFDAmembers have an additional opportunity to learn: free webinars. These sponsoredwebinars will feature a wide range of experts addressing topics such asmarketing, preneed and more. Dates, times, topics and speakers will beannounced on the NFDA website, www.nfda.org,in the weeks and months to come.

RefineYour Skills with Other NFDA Education Offerings

Beyondthe new NFDA Virtual Roundtables and free webinars, the association has avariety of offerings to help funeral directors raise the bar professionally andpersonally.

NFDA’scertification and training programs include the Arranger Training Program,Cremation Certification Program and Certified Preplanning Consultant Program.These programs offer an in-depth exploration of issues that funeral directorsencounter on a daily basis. The tips, tools and techniques learned during theseseminars can transform a funeral director’s approach to serving families andlead to increased client satisfaction.

NFDA Online LearningCourses enable funeral directors to learn from the best experts in funeralservice to boost their business knowledge and skills wherever and whenever theyhave Internet access. In recent months, NFDA has unveiled new courses such as:

·        EmbalmingRisk Management(3 CE Hours)

·        2018Annual All-staff Training with the FTC Funeral Rule Coordinator (3 CE Hours)

·        ApproachingTrauma Cases with Confidence (3 CE Hours)

·        Demonstrationof Soft Tissue Repair(4 CE Hours)

·        SupportingPregnancy Loss Families (3 CE Hours)

·        Do-It-YourselfMemorials (with a Little Help from the Funeral Director) (2 CE hours)

·        Masteringthe Art of Funeral Home Phone Etiquette (1 CE Hour)

·        TheRelevance of Restorative Art (3 CE)

·        RSVP:I'll See You at My Living Funeral (2 CE Hours)

·        TenTools for Stress Relief (3 CE Hours)

NFDA’sconferences and events, which culminate with the annual InternationalConvention & Expo, are specially planned to help funeral professionals taketheir career and business to the next level. These events offer a chance togrow personally and professionally through unique opportunities to learn fromthe some of the best minds in the profession and network with peers.

·        February22-24 – Cremation Conference – St. Pete Beach, FL – www.nfda.org/cremationconference(registration now open)

·        February24-26 – Business Conference – St. Pete Beach, FL – www.nfda.org/businessconference(registration now open)

·        March10-12 – Meet the Mentors – Atlanta, GA – www.nfda.org/mentors(the entry period for a chance to participate has closed)

·        April3-5 – Advocacy Summit – Washington, D.C. – www.nfda.org/advocacysummit(registration opens soon)

·        April12-14 – Professional Women’s Conference – Annapolis, MD – www.nfda.org/pwc (registration opens soon)

·        May16-17 – Embalming & Restorative Art Seminar – Pittsburgh, PA – www.nfda.org/embalmingseminar

·        July13-16 – Leadership Conference – San Diego, CA – www.nfda.org/leadership

·        August15-16 – Embalming & Restorative Art Seminar – Nashville, TN – www.nfda.org/embalmingseminar

·        October27-30 – NFDA International Convention & Expo – Chicago, IL – www.nfda.org/convention

Formore information about NFDA education offerings, visit the NFDA website, www.nfda.org, and click on the “Education” tabat the top of the page.

NFDAis the world's leading and largest funeral service association, serving morethan 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in theUnited States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader,beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is theassociation of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensiveeducational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance tobecome pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster futuregenerations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield,Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.nfda.org.