State Late in Payments to Funeral Homes
By: Alexandra Sutter WMBD/WYZZ
Updated: February 19, 2013
EAST PEORIA - Another industry that is
hurting from the state's lack of funds is funeral providers.
Funeral homes across the state said it's
taking more than a year to get paid back for the public aid services it
performs.
Owner Gary Deiters said the state's
late payments affect cash flow and his business overall. However, he said he's
not surprised that the state is coming up short. Deiters said, "Recently, we
had an executive session down in Springfield with some legislatures and I said,
'well it's been a year since we've been paid' and he goes, 'you're lucky, the
hospitals and nursing homes are waiting longer than that.'"
The state will reimburse a funeral
home about $1,600 for a public aid service, but Deiters said that money doesn't
cover it all. He said the average cost of a funeral is between $7,000 and
$10,000.
