If a person dies under suspicious circumstances, as Medical News Today says, a state orders an autopsy because a crime might have been committed. In other words, taxes pay for autopsies, but nitty-gritties vary from state to state. The San Diego Department of the Medical Examiner, for instance, says that the state of California’s Medical Examiner Office absorbs the cost of an autopsy. The State of Florida Office of the District 21 Medical Examiner says that payment in Florida falls to “the county in the jurisdiction where the person died.” The Utah Department of Health and Human Services says that the cost of an autopsy falls to them: the Utah Department of Health. Each state is different, as is each country around the world.
As far as cost is concerned, sites like PBS estimate $3,000 to $5,000, not including extra costs like transporting a body to and from the autopsy location. The Wall Street Journal, however, puts the low estimate at $1,000, while the Alzheimer’s Association puts it at $2,000. The Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University gets more specific and includes different services that alter the cost. A $4,000 “standard autopsy,” they say, includes internal and external examinations, written reports, etc., but doesn’t include things like a toxicology analysis. A $5,000 “complicated autopsy,” meanwhile, covers demand for additional expertise, like causes of death related to cancer or certain diseases. So overall? Autopsies aren’t cheap.
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