OREGON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION & RIVER VIEW TRANSITION
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Updated as of October 7, 2020
OMA recently sent communication to members who have listed River View in Portland as their preferred mortuary. You can view the communication here. The below information is intended to help answer questions you may have related to this change in OMA's relationship with River View.
Are there other Portland-area providers OMA members can use?
Yes, Cornerstone Funeral Services & Cremation in Boring, OR is a current OMA provider; Cornerstone also offers green burial and aqua cremation options. You can view Cornerstone’s current packages for OMA members on our website. In addition, OMA’s Provider Committee is currently negotiating with other Portland-area providers and plans to have finalized contracts by the end of the year.
I see that Cornerstone packages include a 25-mile radius. Does that mean I cannot use Cornerstone?
We suggest you use Google Maps to determine if your location is within 25 miles of Cornerstone (Boring, Oregon). If you are outside of the 25-mile radius, the package price may differ to account for additional miles. If you are interested in more specific information, you may contact Cornerstone by phone at (503) 637-5020 or by email at [email protected].
I have submitted a Personal Instruction Form (PIF) with OMA in the past with River View listed as my chosen mortuary. Will River View still give me a discount on services?
River View will offer a 10% discount on services if you pre-pay by December 31, 2020. If you do not wish to pre-pay for services and still want a discount, you can choose another OMA provider. It is important to note that the Personal Instruction Form is not a contract or application form; OMA’s practice has been to forward your completed form to the mortuary you have chosen. You do not pay for any services through OMA, other than your membership fee. You do not have to choose an OMA provider. A benefit of choosing an OMA provider is that they offer a discount to OMA members; that said, we do encourage shopping around.
What happens to the Personal Instruction Form I submitted to River View and OMA?
If you have submitted a Personal Instruction Form to OMA in the past, we have forwarded it to the mortuary you indicated on the form. If you do not wish to have River View listed as your mortuary of choice, please contact River View directly and ask them to remove your form from their records. You may call River View at (503) 246-4251. River View is also in the process of contacting members they have on record, giving you the option to pre-pay with the discount and terms mentioned above or to have your form returned to you. Be sure to have your own copy of the Personal Instruction Form stored with your important papers; you can simply update the form with another mortuary. You do not need to file a new form with OMA, but you can contact the OMA office to let us know if you are switching providers, and we will update your member record with that information.
Does OMA recommend that I accept River View’s offer to pre-fund a funeral plan for a 10% discount?
Be advised that OMA generally does not recommend pre-paying your plan unless you are absolutely sure of remaining in that location to the end of your life. That said, pre-arranged funerals are typically written as an insurance policy and funeral homes that offer pre-arranged funerals are required to employ staff who hold an insurance license; these establishments contract with an insurance company and the funds are held by the insurance company. These insurance policies typically can be transferred to another funeral home, but it is important to contact the receiving funeral home to see if they will honor the pre-arranged funeral and work with them on assigning your policy to the receiving funeral home. Funerals written as a Trust are not common and it is more difficult to transfer those funds, it’s important to call the Trust company to see what your options are to transfer those funds. At the time of death, a funeral home will work with you on assignments and transfers. These are your funds or insurance rights, and you can assign them to another mortuary at any time that you wish.
I prepaid for services at River View. Will that still be honored?
Yes, if you prepaid for services with River View, your arrangements will still be honored. You can contact River View directly at (503) 246-4251 to review details of your arrangements. The OMA office does not handle any prepayment of funeral arrangements, nor do we have information on your specific arrangements. If you have filed a Personal Instruction Form (PIF) with OMA in the past, we may have your selected mortuary and disposition preference listed in your membership record.
I recently submitted a Personal Instruction Form (PIF) to the OMA office, listing River View as my mortuary preference. What should I do?
If you submitted your PIF to the OMA office in the past and listed River View as your preferred mortuary, River View will offer you a 10% discount on services if you pre-pay by December 31, 2020. River View will also extend this offer to any members who submit a new Personal Instruction Form until December 31, 2020. Please know that this offer is more expensive than OMA’s previous contract with River View. If you wish to choose a different provider, you can contact River View directly to let them know you wish for them to either return your form to you or shred it. You can choose to still work with River View, knowing that they are no longer an OMA provider and will not be offering a discount. Otherwise, you can update your Personal Instruction Form to list a new provider and continue to keep the form with your important papers. If you wish for OMA to update your member record with your preference, simply email or call the office and we will make the update; this simply serves as another way to document your wishes, so that a loved one may contact the OMA office at time of death for this information in the case they are unable to locate your Personal Instruction Form. If you recently submitted a Personal Instruction Form listing River View, OMA’s Office Manager has reached out to you separately regarding how to handle processing your form.
When will OMA have an updated list of Portland-area providers?
OMA plans to have our provider list updated by the end of 2020. This updated list will include providers in the Portland area as well as throughout the state. In the past, we did not have other Portland-area providers due to the terms of our contract with River View. We are looking forward to being able to offer our members more options in the Portland metro area. For the time being, Cornerstone is a reputable provider. You can check the OMA website for any updated information. We will also send an email communication to members when our provider list and available discounts have been updated. If you wish to receive this communication, the OMA office must have your email address on file. If you are unsure whether we have your email address, please email OMA at [email protected].
Who should I contact if I have additional questions?
If you wish to confirm which mortuary you have selected, if any at all, as an OMA member, you can contact the OMA office. If you have specific questions related to services or other arrangements with River View or another mortuary, please contact the mortuary directly. If you feel you’ve pre-paid for your services, please contact the mortuary you have chosen. OMA does not have a record of any contracts that our members have with partner mortuaries.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Updated as of October 7, 2020
OMA recently sent communication to members who have listed River View in Portland as their preferred mortuary. You can view the communication here. The below information is intended to help answer questions you may have related to this change in OMA's relationship with River View.
Are there other Portland-area providers OMA members can use?
Yes, Cornerstone Funeral Services & Cremation in Boring, OR is a current OMA provider; Cornerstone also offers green burial and aqua cremation options. You can view Cornerstone’s current packages for OMA members on our website. In addition, OMA’s Provider Committee is currently negotiating with other Portland-area providers and plans to have finalized contracts by the end of the year.
I see that Cornerstone packages include a 25-mile radius. Does that mean I cannot use Cornerstone?
We suggest you use Google Maps to determine if your location is within 25 miles of Cornerstone (Boring, Oregon). If you are outside of the 25-mile radius, the package price may differ to account for additional miles. If you are interested in more specific information, you may contact Cornerstone by phone at (503) 637-5020 or by email at [email protected].
I have submitted a Personal Instruction Form (PIF) with OMA in the past with River View listed as my chosen mortuary. Will River View still give me a discount on services?
River View will offer a 10% discount on services if you pre-pay by December 31, 2020. If you do not wish to pre-pay for services and still want a discount, you can choose another OMA provider. It is important to note that the Personal Instruction Form is not a contract or application form; OMA’s practice has been to forward your completed form to the mortuary you have chosen. You do not pay for any services through OMA, other than your membership fee. You do not have to choose an OMA provider. A benefit of choosing an OMA provider is that they offer a discount to OMA members; that said, we do encourage shopping around.
What happens to the Personal Instruction Form I submitted to River View and OMA?
If you have submitted a Personal Instruction Form to OMA in the past, we have forwarded it to the mortuary you indicated on the form. If you do not wish to have River View listed as your mortuary of choice, please contact River View directly and ask them to remove your form from their records. You may call River View at (503) 246-4251. River View is also in the process of contacting members they have on record, giving you the option to pre-pay with the discount and terms mentioned above or to have your form returned to you. Be sure to have your own copy of the Personal Instruction Form stored with your important papers; you can simply update the form with another mortuary. You do not need to file a new form with OMA, but you can contact the OMA office to let us know if you are switching providers, and we will update your member record with that information.
Does OMA recommend that I accept River View’s offer to pre-fund a funeral plan for a 10% discount?
Be advised that OMA generally does not recommend pre-paying your plan unless you are absolutely sure of remaining in that location to the end of your life. That said, pre-arranged funerals are typically written as an insurance policy and funeral homes that offer pre-arranged funerals are required to employ staff who hold an insurance license; these establishments contract with an insurance company and the funds are held by the insurance company. These insurance policies typically can be transferred to another funeral home, but it is important to contact the receiving funeral home to see if they will honor the pre-arranged funeral and work with them on assigning your policy to the receiving funeral home. Funerals written as a Trust are not common and it is more difficult to transfer those funds, it’s important to call the Trust company to see what your options are to transfer those funds. At the time of death, a funeral home will work with you on assignments and transfers. These are your funds or insurance rights, and you can assign them to another mortuary at any time that you wish.
I prepaid for services at River View. Will that still be honored?
Yes, if you prepaid for services with River View, your arrangements will still be honored. You can contact River View directly at (503) 246-4251 to review details of your arrangements. The OMA office does not handle any prepayment of funeral arrangements, nor do we have information on your specific arrangements. If you have filed a Personal Instruction Form (PIF) with OMA in the past, we may have your selected mortuary and disposition preference listed in your membership record.
I recently submitted a Personal Instruction Form (PIF) to the OMA office, listing River View as my mortuary preference. What should I do?
If you submitted your PIF to the OMA office in the past and listed River View as your preferred mortuary, River View will offer you a 10% discount on services if you pre-pay by December 31, 2020. River View will also extend this offer to any members who submit a new Personal Instruction Form until December 31, 2020. Please know that this offer is more expensive than OMA’s previous contract with River View. If you wish to choose a different provider, you can contact River View directly to let them know you wish for them to either return your form to you or shred it. You can choose to still work with River View, knowing that they are no longer an OMA provider and will not be offering a discount. Otherwise, you can update your Personal Instruction Form to list a new provider and continue to keep the form with your important papers. If you wish for OMA to update your member record with your preference, simply email or call the office and we will make the update; this simply serves as another way to document your wishes, so that a loved one may contact the OMA office at time of death for this information in the case they are unable to locate your Personal Instruction Form. If you recently submitted a Personal Instruction Form listing River View, OMA’s Office Manager has reached out to you separately regarding how to handle processing your form.
When will OMA have an updated list of Portland-area providers?
OMA plans to have our provider list updated by the end of 2020. This updated list will include providers in the Portland area as well as throughout the state. In the past, we did not have other Portland-area providers due to the terms of our contract with River View. We are looking forward to being able to offer our members more options in the Portland metro area. For the time being, Cornerstone is a reputable provider. You can check the OMA website for any updated information. We will also send an email communication to members when our provider list and available discounts have been updated. If you wish to receive this communication, the OMA office must have your email address on file. If you are unsure whether we have your email address, please email OMA at [email protected].
Who should I contact if I have additional questions?
If you wish to confirm which mortuary you have selected, if any at all, as an OMA member, you can contact the OMA office. If you have specific questions related to services or other arrangements with River View or another mortuary, please contact the mortuary directly. If you feel you’ve pre-paid for your services, please contact the mortuary you have chosen. OMA does not have a record of any contracts that our members have with partner mortuaries.