Aug 13, 2016

The Living Dead

     Even the New England Journal of Medicine is reporting on the problems of Social Security's Death Master File.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Come on. Once death is reported to the DMF, (and that is not made public for 3 years, only the inner circle of trusted partners get the data in the first 3 years) the organizations are required to verify the death before taking action. That should mean sending a letter saying that they plan to take the termination action but allow the person time to protest. It's part of the agreement they sign to get access to the data. If they did that, this story wouldn't have been written, as the first organization reaching out would have alerted the man that he had a problem and he could have had a chance to get in front of it. I wonder if people who find themselves shut off from services would have a basis for a suit against those organizations that cut them off for failure to follow the agreement and as a result, caused them damage?

RevRus said...

I was declared dead by social security disability when I was pregnant with my son. I even starting sending my pregnancy medical records to show I was alive. Then later I sent entities copies of my son's birth certificate to make the same point. It took forever to fix one group at a time.

I was repeatedly ignored for sending in the filled out exact forms I was told would prove I was still alive. More than once Social Security would say a version of, "What could you possibly have to give us to prove you not dead that is better than the info submitted saying you WERE dead?"

I almost became homeless while not really dead. My disability worsened for lack of care. I am going to die sooner as a result. My son has a lifelong disability because I had no prenatal care for a time.

Even now when I need to report about this time to creditors and medical entities I am not believed and Social Security will not verify my story to other groups.

Even worse, I was also investigated as getting overpayments later for the time I was listed a incorrectly dead. That investigation was as bad as my false "dead" time. Getting one part of Social Security to talk to another part of them was almost impossible.

Anonymous said...

A little twist to this is that the SSA has data on the dead but not on the living, especially when the living want and need the data and cannot even get their own data through FOIA or the Privacy ACT. What happened to the Transparency in this Administration or is the SSA immune to the laws?
What attorney would even dare to file a lawsuit against the SSA for malfeasance on behalf of the SSA beneficiary all because the SSA refuses to give out data they are supposed to give out upon the beneficiaries request. I've been trying for years and all I get is the proverbial runaround and so are others who attempt to do the same.
Again, is the SSA above or immune to the laws governing federal agencies? I do not know even how to even begin to try something else. It is as if the employees have something to hide and it's beyond laziness and incompetence since this reaches different SSA area contacts across the states. Anyone here on this blog have any suggestions?