But some don't. When they're caught, they're fined. But the industry struck a deal with the government so the names of violators don't become public. The federal regulations were never meant to contain prices. The reforms did not cover cemeteries.
Many cemeteries now charge as much or more to dig a grave as to buy the plot.
Laurie Ekstrand, an official with the General Accounting Office, which is conducting the congressional investigation, said her office was stunned by the absence of consumer protection and the complexity of funeral planning. We had no idea about all this. H ank Leszczynski battled his adrenal cancer for three years, enduring chemotherapy, radiation and experimental drugs. In all that time, he could not bear to believe he would die. And in the final days of his life in 1995, when hope of a cure was gone and the focus was on making him comfortable, Hank's mind was consumed with weightier thoughts than the funeral.