On the day after Halloween, Sherry Ellis, 73, went to Walgreens to pick up her prescription and her bank card was declined. The card was only three months old, so she knew something was suspicious.
She went to the bank in her hometown of Magnolia, Texas. After several phone calls, Ellis found out she had been declared dead by the Social Security Administration. She said:
“With my bank card declined everywhere, I can’t get gas, I can’t get money for food, I can’t do anything. I don’t know how long I’d been dead before I found out.”
According to the Office of the Inspector General, the SSA sees fewer than 1,000 cases of mistaken death declarations a month.
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The OIG also said mistaken deaths could lead to mistaken benefit terminations and “cause severe financial hardship and distress” for people like Ellis. She told CNN that a social security check, her Medicare and secondary insurance were all put on hold. She takes ten different medications for blood pressure, a stomach condition, and heart issues that can cost up to $1,400 without insurance.
After receiving the news of her death, Ellis traveled an hour out of her way to the nearest SSA office to correct the problem, which began a slow process that will leave her in limbo for days. She said:
“The Medicare office told me it might take up to 45 days to resurrect me.”
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The office gave her a letter that said she was alive, but her pharmacist and doctor were not able to accept it because she was still listed as deceased in their system.
Luckily, her bank card is working again.
The SSA website says if someone is listed as deceased but their not, they should go to their local office as soon as possible and bring one piece of identification, such as a passport, driver’s license, or health insurance card.
