LA County to Test Waiver of Medical Examiner Transportation, Storage Fee

The County Board of Supervisors called on the Medical Examiner’s office to waive its transportation and storage fees for a 180-day trial period as part of an effort to ease the financial burden on residents who have endured a loved one’s death.

“This motion is about compassion for our residents who are in a time of tremendous loss and grief,” Supervisor Hilda Solis, who proposed the assessment period, said in a statement. “I am grateful to our Chief Medical Examiner who will be leading this work to see how we provide families dealing with loss a sense of financial relief.”

Solis noted that average funeral costs can potentially range as high as $20,000. Among the fees residents often have to pay are a $400 transportation and storage fee assessed by the county medical examiner. Yet Solis noted that during a five-year period, the medical examiner has only been able to collect that fee from between 56% and 63% of residents who were assessed, “indicating the financial hardships experienced by families.”

Under a motion approved by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, the medical examiner was asked to identify funding to allow it to waive the transportation and storage fee for a 180-day period, then report back at the end of that period to determine future steps.

“Families dealing with the pain of loss shouldn’t also face the burden of reaching out and asking for help with this cost,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement after the vote. “This will be a cost that the county will take on, but I think it’s more than worth it.”