HD18 - Study of Competition in the Funeral Industry in Virginia Pursuant to House Joint Resolution 553


Executive Summary:
The Virginia Board of Health Professions conducted this study pursuant to House Joint Resolution 553 of the 1997 Session of the Virginia General Assembly (see Appendices 1 and 2). In conjunction with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and in cooperation with the Virginia Funeral Directors Association, the Virginia Cemetery Association, Inc., and the Independent Funeral Homes of Virginia, the following report reflects the information gleaned about the current trends in the funeral industry. Specifically, the study focuses on the current national trend toward companies owning both cemeteries and funeral homes.

The study's report provides the following information:

• A review of relevant federal and states regulation;

• A literature review on the trends in the funeral industry at the national level which includes an examination of death demographics; discussion of the rise in alternative funeral choices; and firm consolidation, the strategies employed, and the marketplace effects;

• A review of the available Virginia and federal information,

• A summary of public comment, and

• Policy options and final recommendations.