What’s on the agenda at September 7th FTC Funeral Rule event

The FTC is continuing its assessment of how the Funeral Rule is working for consumers and businesses. The next step: a September 7, 2023, workshop, Shopping for Funeral Services. Check out the just-announced agenda.

Shopping for Funeral Services will bring together representatives from consumer groups, industry, academia, and regulators to discuss a number of the issues raised in response to the FTC’s November 2022 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including whether funeral providers should be required to provide pricing online. After introductory remarks from Commissioner Slaughter at 9:30 Eastern Time, the first panel will consider online disclosures. Are they needed? What are the pros and cons? The next panel will continue the conversation about online disclosures with a focus on the practicalities. 

The afternoon session will start with a discussion of basic service fees. The next panel will offer updates on the General Price List, including fee disclosures and mandatory embalming disclosures. The last session of the day will examine the impact of trends in funeral-related technologies.

For those who plan to attend Shopping for Funeral Services in person – it’s free and open to the public – the doors will open at 8:30 ET at the FTC’s Constitution Center conference facility, 400 7th Street, S.W., in Washington, DC. Or you can watch the webcast from a link on the event page. 

The FTC is leaving the record open until October 10, 2023, so you can file public comments online. The Notice in the Federal Register includes how-to information.

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