How to eliminate the "grey area" of the funeral industry
Experts suggest formulating a funeral law to clarify the responsibilities of the main body of law enforcement
□ Our reporter Zhao Chenxi
The deceased needs "flowers to lead the way", which costs 800 yuan; "money pads" under him, 900 yuan; and a shower spa, which costs 5,990 yuan... After some operations, Mr. Deng spent tens of thousands of yuan.
Recently, netizen Mr. Deng broke the news that the funeral expenses for his family's remains in the mortuary of a tertiary hospital in Beijing for three days were as high as 38,000 yuan.
As can be seen from the receipts posted by Mr. Deng, there are many charging items, and even a "meal service" of 600 yuan.
According to the latest report, after on-site inspections by the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, and the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, it was found that the enterprises involved were suspected of having unmarked prices, non-implementation of government pricing, and unapproved body storage business. A series of problems will be strictly investigated and dealt with in accordance with the law.
For a long time, reports on the high and arbitrary charges of funeral services have appeared in the newspapers from time to time. Yang Genlai, a professor at the Beijing Vocational College of Social Management, pointed out in an interview with a reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily" that the funeral industry urgently needs to be fully regulated by improving laws. In the future, it should be Consider introducing a funeral law to clarify the content of funeral services, pricing rules, and responsibilities of competent authorities.
Funeral services range in price
"The death of a loved one is a sad thing. The living people hope that the deceased can leave with dignity, and the cost is often the business's 'discuss'." The recent hotly debated incident of high funeral expenses made Wu Yingshen, who lives in Xicheng District, Beijing. I have feelings. Last year, her father died of illness in a public hospital in Changping District, Beijing. The hospital mortuary provided funeral services for her, and the cost was as high as more than 6,000 yuan in just 3 hours.
On a funeral service fee confirmation form provided by Wu Ying, the most expensive service is the body bath, which costs 3,800 yuan.
The reporter noticed that on this document, the prices of other "special services" including stripping, bathing, farewell ceremonies, etc. Handwritten for business.
"We were only told that we would provide bathing services for the deceased, but the specific price was not clearly informed." Wu Ying questioned the high cost when paying the fee and asked the merchant to provide a specific price list, but the merchant said that these "services" were all It is only after family approval.
In 2018, the "Guiding Opinions on Further Promoting Funeral Reform and Promoting the Development of the Funeral Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") jointly issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other 16 departments clearly stipulated that funeral service agencies should fully implement the system of publicity of charges and clearly marked prices, and inducement is strictly prohibited. , bundling, compulsory consumption.
But industry insiders admit that sky-high asking prices have become an unspoken rule in the funeral industry.
Wang Jue, who has been in the funeral industry for nearly 20 years, currently runs a funeral service company in Chaoyang District, Beijing.
He said that funeral services can be divided into basic services. The prices indicated in some funeral shops are limited to basic services. Since there is no price standard for extended services, it is basically decided by businessmen and their families through negotiation.
Taking advantage of the grief of the death of family members and the fact that many people do not know the way to "send away" the deceased, businesses often "fudge and make a mistake."
"For example, the so-called 'carrying money' is actually putting a stack of paper money under the body of the deceased. The cost is almost negligible, but this service generally charges starting at 300 yuan." Wang Jue said frankly that the funeral industry earns "emotional money" for family members ", everyone understands that it is not worth so much money, but rarely "haggles".
Yang Genlai said that currently my country adopts the coexistence of government pricing, government-guided prices and market-regulated prices in the pricing of funeral services.
After the body is transported to the funeral home, the services involved in the transportation of the body, the cremation of the body, and the storage of ashes are mostly priced by the government. The price is transparent and close to the people, which reflects the public welfare attribute of the funeral service.
"The problem is that the market adjusts the price. There are not only a variety of types, but also high prices." Yang Genlai pointed out that it is difficult for consumers to rationally analyze the loss of a loved one. Funeral consumption is basically subject to the guidance of funeral service agencies. Rational consumption, which gives some institutions an opportunity to take advantage.
Liu Junhai, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, also paid attention to this problem. He found that although some funeral agencies claim to have transparent fees and have so-called price lists, they do not clearly inform consumers about the specific fees, and basically recommend high-end services. , so that consumers have no choice, this behavior seriously violates consumers' right to know, their right to choose and their right to fair trade.
Hospital mortuary becomes a grey area for supervision
In the case of the sky-high funeral expenses of a tertiary hospital in Beijing, the company involved was outsourced by the hospital. The information obtained by the reporter from Caizhao.com shows that the funeral service company has also won the bidding of mortuary funeral services in other hospitals.
At present, Beijing has launched a comprehensive investigation of the outsourcing of hospital mortuaries in the city, and stated that it will study and formulate policies and measures to improve hospital mortuary management services.
Is it legal for hospital mortuaries to outsource funeral services to social enterprises?
Many people have raised this question.
"At present, there are no policies and legal regulations specifically on whether hospital mortuaries can outsource funeral services. Therefore, from the perspective of existing policies, such outsourcing behaviors are not illegal." But Yang Genlai pointed out that the outsourcing of hospital mortuaries resulted in arbitrary charges. The problem has been around for a long time.
The "Opinions" clearly stated that it is strictly forbidden to carry out for-profit funeral services in mortuaries, but from the perspective of implementation, it is difficult for hospitals to comprehensively supervise the operation process after outsourcing the funeral services. management, making it a "grey area" for regulation.
From Yang Gen's point of view, the hospital mortuary is a short-term "stop" for the body to be sent to the funeral home. It must not become a profit-making place for the funeral company. The funeral service of the hospital mortuary should return to the public welfare attribute.
Regarding the public's suggestion to stop outsourcing funeral services in hospital mortuaries, Yang Genlai believes that the possibility of a complete ban in the short term is not high, but he suggested that where conditions permit, we can first explore the hospital's funeral services to the civil affairs department Unified management.
For example, it is required that companies engaged in funeral services must file with the local civil affairs department, and each hospital's bidding behavior must be selected from the filing companies under the guidance of the civil affairs department, and centralized supervision should be strengthened.
The reporter noticed that some places have withdrawn the contracting business of hospital mortuaries.
For example, Tianjin issued a document in 2013 stating that hospital mortuaries are strictly prohibited from renting or contracting to other units or individuals, and will be handed over to the funeral service unit designated by the civil affairs department for unified management.
Funeral management laws and regulations need to be improved
"Birth, old age, sickness and death are natural laws and constitute the basic connotation of public services." Yang Genlai suggested to improve the legal system in the field of funerals.
At present, the highest ranking in the funeral field is the "Funeral Management Regulations" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") promulgated by the State Council in 1997. After that, only amendments were made in 2012, and some amendments were made to Article 20, and the rest did not. change.
According to Yang Genlai, relevant departments started the revision of the "Regulations" as early as 2004. In 2018, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced the "Regulations (Draft for Comments)", which clearly defined government responsibilities and improved basic public funeral services. , strengthening the public welfare orientation, etc. as the revision focus.
In response to the situation of funeral services and funeral supplies market chaos, targeted regulations have also been made, requiring no clever names, no misleading, bundling, forced consumption, and no restrictions on the use of legally self-contained funeral supplies.
However, the Ordinance has not yet been amended.
Yang Genlai said bluntly that although some places have revised the local funeral management regulations, the content is also unsatisfactory when the "top-level system" is not yet perfect.
Taking into account the frequent occurrence of chaos in the field of funerals, Yang Genlai believes that the "Regulations" should be revised as soon as possible, and consider raising the legal level, formulate special legislation in the field of funerals, and study the introduction of funeral laws.
"The key to perfecting the law is to clarify the responsibilities of each law enforcement body." Yang Genlai pointed out that although the funeral work is mainly managed by the civil affairs department, it also involves many departments such as public security, land and forestry.
For example, the construction of cemeteries and funeral homes involves the development and reform commission, environmental protection, land and other departments; the production and sales of funeral supplies involve industry and commerce, price and other departments.
However, the current "Regulations" do not detail the responsibilities of relevant departments, and there is no clear regulation on how to participate in funeral management.
For example, the civil affairs department lacks the means to supervise the funeral services carried out in hospital mortuaries and the extended funeral services other than government-priced items.
"To allow the funeral industry to develop healthily on the track of the rule of law, establish an effective funeral management mechanism by improving the legal and regulatory system." Yang Genlai suggested that the industry access threshold should be raised, and social units and companies without integrity and qualifications should be strictly controlled. Individuals enter the funeral industry and establish an exit mechanism.
Liu Junhai agreed with this. He believed that special laws should be formulated in the field of funerals to demonstrate the people-oriented concept.
Considering that the funeral industry has a large profit margin and a certain monopoly, and consumers lack bargaining space and bargaining power, Liu Junhai suggested that key regulations should be made in terms of price in the improvement of the law, and some market-regulated prices may be considered to be included in government guidance. price, and set up multiple gears to meet the different needs of consumers.
At the same time, the so-called extended services should be further clarified to prevent businesses from using some superstitious services to deceive consumers.