04JAN09 Getting the Death Certificate ©
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Host_John: Hello everone
Host_John: tonights topic is
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FD1: Hello
Host_John: Getting the death certificate
daveb: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh hurt me
Host_John: when someone dies in the hospital there is usually a DC there waiting for us in Massachusetts
hrbeckham: Good evening all. Hello from warm beautiful Florida
Host_John: Nursing home and house deaths we have to chase the Dr for his/her signature on the DC
Portnoy: Most of the time Ny is like that also
Host_John: what is happening in your area
Aurora28: Greetings from Nc!
Portnoy: South Florida-we have to dropoff dc's at the dr's office
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Portnoy: then wait for a call back to pick it up 3 days later
Portnoy: If they call us
Host_John: In Massachusetts we cannot have disposition until we have the DC
Portnoy: and heaven forbid you call to check on it
daveb: I like that If Portnoy
Host_John: In florida why don't you just mail it to the DR?
Aurora28: Here in Nc, I'm usually able to "walk" the dc through the Md, Health Dept, and Register of Deeds if the death is in my county. All in one day.
hrbeckham: It usually take a business day or two to get Dc to the doctor here...er docs are the hardest to deal with...many decline to sign a dc refer us to contact the pcp...sometines the deceased has not seen a dr in years
Host_John: what if Dr is too busy to sign?
hrbeckham: we mail it if the person dies in another county or if they are hard to get to
Portnoy: Mail the Dc? hahaha good one...so the nurses who barely speak proper english as it is can just dump it in a apile...
Aurora28: John, if that was for me, I've made contacts in the secretarial pool and they'll interrupt him/her for a signature.
FD1: He has a obligation to sign it
FD1: Call the Me
hrbeckham: we usually leave the dc and ask the to call when signed (we follow up the next day)
hrbeckham: and fax it to us when signed
Portnoy: Sometimes the nurses dont even tell the doctor the Dc is there...
Host_John: Aurora most Dr.s are just fine, they make time to sign DC
hrbeckham: we have to fax to Me if cremation involved
Portnoy: and if we call the next day, they get an attitude
daveb: Things have gotten better on my end --- just one Dr. who has no clue
Portnoy: "We told you we will call you when it['s signed"
Host_John: others Dr.s Stonewall it
Aurora28: Our Health Director has sent letters to uncooperative Mds strongly admonishing them for delaying the Dcs. The last one even listed the offending Mds and that was good. Things have been better.
Host_John: wow that is great idea Aurora
Host_John: here all must be in Black Ink?
Aurora28: Yep, only one ignored it.
daveb: and nor crossovers John
FD1: I feel a bigger problem with the Dc is were it gets filed
Aurora28: how so, Fd1?
Host_John: tell us more FD1
daveb: We need scribes here in Mass
Portnoy: I know the health department in Nyc, it used to be if a t wasnt crossed at the top, it would get rejected...
FD1: Why can't we file it in the town the deceased lived in, which in most cases is in the town or city our funeral home is located
Portnoy: I love this cause of death too here in florida "failure to thrive"
Portnoy: no kidding
daveb: Laboring Jesuits with Feathers on their pens
Aurora28: It *has* to be filed in the county of death.
hrbeckham: we have a lot of doc that are "hospitalist" here who work for a medical group and move from hospital to hospital, sometimes not even in the same city, same with Er groups...hard to track those doctors down since they do not really have an office
Host_John: FD1 what state are you in?
hrbeckham: you have a complaint?
Portnoy: and abbreviations....
Host_John: do the arrangements over the phone
Aurora28: The parallel would listing the town of parents' residence on the Bc for a kid born in an out-of-town hospital. Just wouldn't be accurate.
hrbeckham: Me here hates abrevations except Copd
Host_John: get all the info you can so you can get DC filed in one trip
FD1: Aurora, if a person dies in Boston the funeral home makes the transfer followed by another trip back to boston for the Bp followed by another trip to Boston for the Certifieds
Portnoy: families love to see their loved ones cause of death as " Mi, due to Copd, due to Ashd....."
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Portnoy: when i was up in Ny they didnt allow abbreviations, especially Nyc
Host_John: FD why do you make the removal when you don't have all the info you neeed?
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Aurora28: John, sometimes you can't get all the info while making the removal.
Aurora28: the biographical info, etc.
Host_John: if the person dies far from us and is in the hospital we get the info before we go
Host_John: what is the hurry on the removal?
Aurora28: all of the bio? parents names, occupation, military svc, etc.?
Host_John: you have no written contract to do any service
Host_John: we callect that at arrangements
daveb: john do you carry a typewriter with you when you go to Boston to fill it out and pick up body?
FD1: I like our transfers made as soon as the Cert is signed, I don't like leaving people in a hospital any longer that needed
Host_John: no sir we print them by hand in Boston
Host_John: so you have to make two trips FD1
Aurora28: I just buried a man who laid in a Va hospital from Friday til Monday waiting for his autopsy! I don't like leaving them either
daveb: well you must have been trained by the Nuns cause they cant read mine
Host_John: how can you do removal with no signed contract?
Host_John: Penmanship is key
FD1: sometimes 3
Aurora28: John, do you mean the Statement of Goods and Services, that signed?
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Host_John: we send someone with excellent penmanship
hrbeckham: better type dc here
FD1: I wouldn't want to leave my family member there any longer than needed
Host_John: yes Estimated statement of goods and services
daveb: herehere some families find ne info
Host_John: computer prints most of our DC's
Aurora28: The reason for typing, as far as I'm concerned, is so that the completed document "looks good". Oh, I don't have an estimated version.
Host_John: Hi Ron
daveb: but you take puter to Boston?
hrbeckham: Good evening Mr. Hast
RonHast: Hi 2 U
Host_John: No David, I repeat, we type by hand when in Boston
Aurora28: In Boston, does the register of deeds or whoever retype the hand-writen stuff?
FD1: No
Portnoy: My other concern about not getting a Dc signed for days after death is not knowing the cause of death. Yes I know, Universal Precautions
Host_John: I dont' think it is good practice to make hospital removals when you dont have a signed agreement
Portnoy: However, it blows to find out a case you worked on had Tb 2-3 days after the embalming.
RonHast: It appears that Death Certificates will ultimately be out of the hands of funeral directors. It is so now, other than to enter vital statistic information.
FD1: Why?
Host_John: Portnoy, it is a best guess by the Dr in my opinon
FD1: They called you
RonHast: A magnificent achievement!!
moondoggie: anyone knoe how to get a doctor to sign a cert quickly? We sometimes have to wait a day or longer.
Portnoy: i agree.
Host_John: get the Doctors Ear
Aurora28: I always have an authorization-to-embalm signed. Moondoggie, make a friend in the sacretarial pool. That always works for me.
RonHast: Moon....give the certificate to the family and ask them to take it to the Dr. for signature.
FD1: Call the Me and tell them you are having a problem with a Dr signing a Dc
Host_John: communicate to the Dr the necessity for the signature
daveb: John how do you handle a Family that plans a funeral you put in papers and Dr has not signed
Aurora28: Our competitors would make us look like turkies if we gave them a Dc to take to an Md to sign
Portnoy: In Florida we can proceed with disposition (except cremation) without having a signed death certificate.
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Aurora28: same in Nc
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Host_John: we disclose at arrangements that we have to engage with many to make the funeral happen on time, there may be a delay, if there is we will update the family
daveb: So you know your Laggard Drs
Aurora28: I still don't ahave a Dc for the man I buried yesterday
RonHast: Again, the system now in place in California is magnificent. The Dr. goes online and gives a code, and enters the causes. The issue of acceptable cause is with the health department and Dr., not the funeral director.
moondoggie: I've told doctors that they will cause the service to be delayed and that that could cause Them legal problems
FD1: Did any of you attend the meeting held at Mt Ida about a month or so ago?
RonHast: Funeral directors no longer take certificates to Dr's for signature.
daveb: no
FD1: The Bvs was pathetic
RonHast: What is Bvs
ncfsl: I once had a cancer specialist that would come to her patient's funerals if she could work it into her schedule, but she would not sign a Dc in a timely manner. I finally called her one day and talked to her about it & she said that the Dc was proof she had failed the patient. I told her to not al
Host_John: here in New England we do Ron
Host_John: BRB
FD1: there was a women there that was asked why Dc can't be filed in the city or town where the person lived, her answer was unreal,
Aurora28: Ron, who takes the certificates where you are?
Portnoy: Was she crying?
Portnoy: hahaha
RonHast: That may change John. It took a long time to get this done, but it works perfectly. Remember, most all death certificates are similar now throughout the Us. It takes time.
RonHast: There is no certificate. It is all on line.
FD1: Bureau of Vital Statistics
RonHast: Certifieds are made from on line information.
Chuck2479: I wanted to go to that meeting at Mt. Ida. Anything worthwile discussed?
FD1: No,
RonHast: John, it is wonderful. You and your colleagues should support it.
daveb: Darn Massachusetts -- Land of Liberals and Kennedy's----- Nh has the best sysyem
Aurora28: That oninestuff is fascinating! How can i find out more about it?
ncfsl: Nc is at least 2-5 yrs away from online Dcs
Aurora28: probably longer, if during my lifetime
Chuck2479: It is my understanding that Boston and Worcester are putting up the biggest fight against filing in town of residence or town Fh is located. They don't want to loose the $$$ on all the permits they issue
ncfsl: That's what they said last Spring
RonHast: Don't be too sure. It saves fuel, time, costs, and there isnothing adverse about it. Why resist it? It just took time to get all the Dr's and Fd's online -- county by county or district by district.
FD1: We were told 3 years ago that Bvs was moving ahead with online filing, here we are 3 years later and nothing
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RonHast: There is still a permit fee. But you send it in.
Aurora28: A permit fee for what?
hrbeckham: electronic dcs are being developed for use here...budget short falls have delayed it coming on line
Chuck2479: Disposition permit, Aurora
FD1: I have been told recently that Legislation for online filing will be addresed this session (january 09)
Aurora28: I've never paid for one...didn't know.
RonHast: Some states acknowledge private companies charging a fee to handle it...but that's no good because it is elective. Calif. it is a mandatory system, and once we all understood how it worked, it is praise, praise.
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FD1: Hr, thats what they have been saying for years
RonHast: Dr's must a nswer to the State, not the Funeral Director.
RonHast: Well it is alive and working in Calif., that's for sure
daveb: yep we are the pawns
hrbeckham: they are testing in two counties, they say thay it should be online in 2 more years......we will see
RonHast: Certificates are generally simple in small communities. But large cities it can be a nightmare.
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Host_John: Chasing Dr.s Keeps funeral service busy in New England
Aurora28: I dabble in genealogy and like the idea of filing in the county where the birth or death occurred, of course I'm in rural Nc.
Host_John: no wonder in California you can have a funeral for ninty nine bucks
RonHast: Remember: There is nothing more certain than change!
FD1: hr, let me file it in my town, whats the difference? they all end up in Boston anyway
Aurora28: 99 bucks or bottles of beer on the wall
RonHast: Sometimes for the good, and othertimes, bad.
daveb: should we wax the cars?
Host_John: with the electronic DC things will change
FD1: John, it was worse when gas was over $4
RonHast: Did the subject change to car waxing?
daveb: yes over spending time chasin Dc
Host_John: getting back to Making the removal with no agreement, I don't think that is a good practice
Portnoy: I think one Sunday the topic chould be nepotism in the Fh
Aurora28: roflmao!
Aurora28: what....me and my dad?
FD1: Never had a problem with it
Host_John: Port LOL that is where we get our labor
Portnoy: hahaha
Host_John: ya can't tell dad NO!
Portnoy: shh
Portnoy: lol
Aurora28: %%%% straight...that's why i'm crazy today, though he's 92 and retired...
daveb: Shallow subject Portnoy
Host_John: OPEN FORUM FUNERAL CHATTER UNTIL THE TOP OF THE HOUR
RonHast: Looks like the trivia is localized......
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Aurora28: I've not come to the chat for months, and I must say this one has been really interesting, lively, and lot of fun!
daveb: yep I have the Host-john Watch tonight
hrbeckham: I do what ever I need to do, usually too busy with families, but i still wash cars, clean the building, look after the restrooms and blow the leaves away on top of everything else
Host_John: Dave you sporting a Rolex?
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daveb: hell no dont even where a watch
Aurora28: hrbeckham, me, too, plus printing the programs!
Host_John: We go to the car wash
FD1: just cufflinks
FD1: lol
Host_John: we have a lawn service
daveb: nope just jeans
Host_John: we do shovel snow!
Host_John: a lot his season
RonHast: Be very careful exposing funeral cars to the "charity car washes." It may seem like a kind thing to support, but it can result in horrid experiences.
Host_John: Tell us more Ron
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Aurora28: you're right about that. kids will never tough our cars again!
daveb: If I do i bring my shammie and oversee
Aurora28: anybody here use the Kozak rags? Those are lifesavers for me/
daveb: not in years my staff refuse to let me
Host_John: Aurora Printing your own programs is a good practice, you maintain control of quality
RonHast: Usually, kids or others volunteering just show up to help. There is no supervision. They grab a rag and start rubbing, and often pick up sand particles from the lower areas, then continue to wipe higher up. One Fd had a $7,000 (insurance claim) with deductable when he learned the hard way.
Aurora28: and accuracy
Host_John: we take the cars to the Car wash
Host_John: if weather is bad, get them cleaned asap
RonHast: The car wash system knows better.
Host_John: we still vaccume them out, the car wash is not that good at vaccuming
FD1: ours are washed by hand, nephew does them
Aurora28: can i borrow your nephew?
FD1: after every funeral
RonHast: The problem is lack of supervision. Volunteers don't understand the potential problems.
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Chuck2479: In the northeast, you should also pay extra and get the undercarraige washed in the winter months too.
Host_John: Understood Ron thanks
FD1: he get 20 a car
FD1: sure
FD1: that include vacum
Aurora28: send him to Nc quick!
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EricaL: Hello. Side note. Death certificates are done electronically here in Nj
EricaL: also via fax
daveb: All Skate--- what about tipping ie cemetery, ect
Host_John: erica how long does Dr have to sign?
EricaL: still 24 hrs
RonHast: Keeping funeral cars immaculate is not a casual issue. It deserves careful attention.
Host_John: cool
FD1: $15 tip and $5 for the vaultman
Host_John: we are in open forum funeral chatter until the top of the hour
EricaL: gotcha
FD1: then what?
Aurora28: my gravedigger charges me so much that i think he's built in his own tip.
FD1: How much?
Host_John: we give the cem staffs gift cert for dinner at Christmas time
Aurora28: I always bring the vault man a plate of whatever they're serving in the fellowship hall
RonHast: Many regions seem to have variable habits. There is essentially no tipping expected in Calif. that I am aware of.
Aurora28: John, are there no church cemeteries where you are?
FD1: Yes in Ma there is
hrbeckham: Tipping is expected some places and not in others
daveb: Ii was taght nit to tip because they are being paid for their job-- if they go out of way maybe
RonHast: The gifts at Christmas are common and obviously appreciated, expecially by workers and not just the bosses.
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Aurora28: I asked about gifts for cemetery staffs because we're talking about non-staffed church cemeteries.
FD1: Dave, do they carry the casket to the gravesite our do you bring you dress men?
daveb: like Catholic Cemeteries in Boston charge over 2000.00 ya think the uniions are paid enuough
hrbeckham: I just visited the new Va cemetery they are opening in a few days here...i was very disapointed
daveb: they rewuire that their folks carry
daveb: require
Aurora28: amazing! In Nc our pallbearers (selected by family) have to do the carrying
FD1: same here
Host_John: We also award the cemetery award trophy to the best catholic cem in ther area
daveb: We will bring plent of staff but we cannot touch
FD1: you in Ma
daveb: yes
RonHast: Many cemeteries (example, Catholic) are pricing themselves way above competition -- and claim they are helping their members. Bs !!!!!
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RonHast: And of course many catholic cemeteries now have crematories. The key word here is "business."
Host_John: it is making cremation more popular Ron
Aurora28: In rural Nc, churches are charging $600 to non-paying members to discouraging those who moved away years ago from trying to be buried in their former church cemetery
hrbeckham: it looks like they filled in a swamp
RonHast: Correct John!
Host_John: government is business as are hosptials
FD1: Anyone in Ma using the new plastic vault?
RonHast: And many Catholic priests are ignoring their mandates to send families to their sponsored cemeteries, and they are not doing so. Interesting, huh!
daveb: who has them>
hrbeckham: some family cemeteries are as little as $50 you have to be related to someone buried there
Host_John: Not allowed in Cems in Lowell MA area
Aurora28: In Nc I used one once, only because the man who made our wooden boxes died.
FD1: Company in Plymouth
Host_John: the price for digging the grave is not that bad
Aurora28: They don't look to bad.
Aurora28: too bad
RonHast: Thanks for the chat.....r.
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Host_John: contrast that to having some waste water pipe replaced at hour house
FD1: Came by to shoe us, I was not impresed with the price
hrbeckham: o/c in Georgia a fraction of o/c in N Florida
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Aurora28: true, here i can get a reinforced concrete vault for about the same price
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Chuck2479: Our local cemeteries specify concrete in their rules. But I think that was aimed at discontinuing the old pine liner boxes that were used in the old days.
FD1: The reinforced vault here is about 350 cheaper
Aurora28: Chuck, are the cemeteries aware of the plastic liners?
FD1: These are stronger Chuck
FD1: It's just the price is high
daveb: fibergas?
daveb: gla
Chuck2479: Probably not. The local cemetery commission is appointed by the mayor, with no cemetery experience necessary
FD1: Yes
daveb: glas
Host_John: In New England it gets below freezing, cems feel plastic and fiberglass are too brittle
Aurora28: had not considered the temp. makes good sense
Host_John: plus the frost line moves into the ground so there is a lot of shifting to consider
daveb: frost usually does not go 6 ft
FD1: Mt Wollaston is considering them
Aurora28: I'm getting finger-fatigue and must bid everyone adieu. Really enjoyed tonight, and will see you again soon.
daveb: tc all
FD1: Goodnight
Aurora28: bye
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Host_John: many burials are not at 6 feet
Host_John: night aurora
Sam_Moore: when we double they are only 18inches below the surface
hrbeckham: concrete vaults are the most common here....corporate cemeteries will try to sell fiberglass or pvc vaults in their cemeteries
Host_John: U have no Frost Sam
Sam_Moore: we had ice on the windsheild last week 37dg at 7am
Host_John: if the cem does not require vault do you still try to sell one
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Host_John: wheww Sam
Host_John: we had that ice with a foot of snow on top
Sam_Moore: i dont know of a cem. that doesnot require a vault out here
Chuck2479: Do you me require an outer burial container? I know of only one in mass that requires a vault.
Host_John: had the chains on the truck this last storm
Sam_Moore: i couldnt live in that cold John
Host_John: oh you don't stay out in the cold, the younger generation is outside
Host_John: we are toasty sipping coffee inside
Sam_Moore: right
Chuck2479: I tell them what the requirement is, and let them decide.
Host_John: good idea Chuck
Chuck2479: I am not big on pushing merchandise
Host_John: GN FD1
FD1: not me, them
ncfsl: Let's see if I can do this now
Host_John: AGE, GENDER, LOCATION CHECK PLEASE
Sam_Moore: old tired female embalmer california
Host_John: 57, M, Lovely Lowell Massachusetts USA
FD1: 49, Male, Mass
ncfsl: I had a cancer specialist who would show up at a funeral 25 miles away but not sign the Dc
Chuck2479: 41, M, Mass.
ncfsl: I called her& her excuse was that the Dc i n front of her was proof she had failed her patient
ncfsl: I told her not to fail the patient's family by holding up the Dc
Sam_Moore: my mother had been buried 2 weeks before her Dc was signed and filed
ncfsl: They could not do anything without the Certified Copy of Dc
ncfsl: Including pay her last bill!
ncfsl: Never had another problem with her!
FD1: Friday we had a Doc sign 4 Dc before he got it right
Host_John: for your state associaiton to allow a DC to take two weeks to get signed is terrible
Sam_Moore: it was in North Alabama
Host_John: FD 1 we will print the entire DC including cause when we need a re sign
ncfsl: 47 female Nc
Sam_Moore: We File Electronically
Chuck2479: Threaten to call the state Medical Board can often move things along.
Sam_Moore: But Have To Make Many Admendments
Sam_Moore: oops caps
Host_John: Sam how long does DR have to sign in your area?
Sam_Moore: law says 16hrs..
FD1: John, I wasn't wasting my time because I would have had to type it 4 times
FD1: He was 15 miles away
Host_John: you know best FD1, we all do what we have to do
ncfsl: Nc has to have it filed within 5 days
Host_John: we have Dr 30 miles away refuse to sign a blank
ncfsl: but Dr.'s don't always allow that to happen
Sam_Moore: We have to have a signed cert before we can get a burial/cremation permit
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Chuck2479: John, I always bring two copies in case he/she makes a mistake.
Host_John: NCFL how did they get 5 days to sign?
FD1: They are supposed to sign them blank to start with John.
Host_John: same here we keep a few in most company vehicles
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Host_John: this guy insisted the front had to be complely filled out
ncfsl: Been that way for years
Host_John: he got huffy and refused
ncfsl: If it's a cremation it has to be signed before the cremation.
FD1: What does he do if the person died in a hospital?
Chuck2479: John, that would also merit a complaint to the Board of Registration in Medicine. Their website has a form you can fax.
FD1: You don't need to answer that
ncfsl: But Cremation cannot happen until at least 24 hrs after death
Host_John: it has to be signed before burial in Mass too
Host_John: 48 hours in Mass for Cremation
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ncfsl: State Me has been working with our Dc-negligent Drs
FD1: We havn't been
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Host_John: many Dr.s offices have DC's there
Host_John: we fax them their needed data and often the DC is sitting there waiting on us
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FD1: What do you fax them?
Chuck2479: they often appreciate if you leave a couple of blank Dcs when you pick yours up so they have a supply of current certs to use.
Sam_Moore: nite all...got a long week ahead
FD1: Gn Sam
Host_John: it is a good idea to tell familys that DC's are a problem if you anticipate an issue
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ncfsl: Nothing gets a Dr to sign a Dc like having the family to call!
FD1: If it gets to a potential problem I will ask a family member to give the Dr's offic a call
Host_John: that works very well NCFSL
FD1: That has only happened once or twice Thank God
ncfsl: oh yeah!
FD1: Both times the Dr was pissed
FD1: Lol
Host_John: when we have a distant DC we will use the mail if we have time
trsbcmi: Does anyone have a chain nursing home where the "attending" doctor is on the other side of the state?
ncfsl: What's that ole saying?
ncfsl: It's not finished until the paperwork is through?
Host_John: happens here often trsbcmi
FD1: ?????
Host_John: we call that Dr's office and ask them to mail the DC to us, they usually do
trsbcmi: Got one that's been sitting for two weeks. Local doctors won't touch it.
Host_John: most Dr's have blank DC's in their offices
FD1: Where are you trs
trsbcmi: Michigan
ncfsl: I kept a log of when the Dc left my hand, whether it was mailed or hand carried to Dr & when it arrived at Health Dept & Rods.
FD1: You have the remains
ncfsl: That was we could keep up with the Dc-deficient physicians & could report that to the Health Dept who would also contact the physician
trsbcmi: What bugs me is they will probably just put "failure to Thrive" because they have no clue.
FD1: Not a cause in Ma anymore
ncfsl: Health Dept finally started sendiing a report out each month including Fh, Dr, how many days late, etc.
ncfsl: When the Drs found out they shapped up quickly
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Host_John: how difficult is the town where you file the DC?
trsbcmi: Our state is also looking into electronic filing. Is anybody doing that yet?
Host_John: in Boston they are Great
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Host_John: in some towns they are very picky
ncfsl: Nc is 2 - 5 years away from Electronic filing of Dcs
ncfsl: Small towns were always easier
FD1: What do you do now Ncf
Host_John: once Social Security passes a law for notificaiton with in 24 hrs of death they will all be electronic
ncfsl: Large towns much more complicated and an hour away
Chuck2479: I predict that Mass will be the last to make the change to electronic. Too many people have jobs shuffling paper now.
ncfsl: Is Ss going to do that?
ncfsl: you don't really want to know do you?
FD1: Maybe thats where we should be looking John
FD1: because this states in no hurry
Chuck2479: Mass would rather loose federal funding than lay off city/state workers
FD1: States asking for Tril$ now
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Host_John: many states feel that way Chuck but now they need the Fed dollars more than ever
Chuck2479: but the state/municipal unions have a lot of political pull.
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Host_John: when the lay offs start the unions will have more on their minds than the e-death certificate
Host_John: look at what happend to Driveers license on line
Chuck2479: In Massachusetts in particular. They will drag their feet on changing over to electrionic
Host_John: when SS says it's the law, they will roll over
harper has left.
ncfsl: How does Ma handle Driver's License now?
POG70: 2011 is the Tennessee target date for switching over to electronic Dc filing
FD1: I havn't said this yet, but wouldn't it make sense for John to be able to make a transfer out of Boston with Dc in hand, file it and get a burial permit right from Lowell
Host_John: yes it would but that is now how it is done in Mass
Host_John: we are way behind the times
Chuck2479: It makes sense to everyone but the city of Boston, who would loose the $25 permit fee and $12 for each Dc
FD1: How do we fix that John
Host_John: the computer user is coming to the drivers seat in every state, more and more each day we see e-commerce in government
Host_John: FD1 I am OK with it
FD1: No Chuck they will still get the $12 and charging for Bp in Ma is not legal
Host_John: we go to boston with full data and get permit whilst in Boston
ncfsl: They will never reduce the fees
POG70: There are still funeral homes out there with no computer or no internet connection
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ncfsl: even though it takes less manhours to do the job
FD1: Your ok with it the way it is?
cnmmnc: good evening folks
Host_John: the fee for Burial Permits is ruled illegal yet most towns still charge for it in Massachusetts
ncfsl: I know of some that have no 3 prong plug outlets or fax machines
cnmmnc: sorry i'm late had to work a viewing
Host_John: Yes, we have an association that will never buck the system
FD1: I know that
Host_John: if the association is not going to sponser change in DC's it will never happen
ncfsl: why?
FD1: But, i'm sorry i feel the way it is today is wrong
Host_John: we are all basically lazy
ncfsl: why would they keep their head in the sane?
POG70: The Dc changeover here is being pushed by the state
ncfsl: I understand that!
Host_John: OPEN FORUM FUNERAL CHATTER UNTIL NEXT TIME (END RECORDING)