2 months ago
The Social Security Administration's caller main is promising to overhaul nan agency's strategy of clawing backmost billions of dollars it claims was wrongly sent to beneficiaries, saying it "just doesn't look correct aliases fair."
In an question and reply pinch KFF Health News, SSA Commissioner Martin O'Malley said that successful nan coming days he would propose changes to thief group debar crushing debts that person driven immoderate into homelessness and caused financial hardships for nan nation's astir susceptible — nan poorest of nan mediocre and group pinch disabilities aliases persistent aesculapian conditions aliases who are astatine slightest property 65.
O'Malley, who took agency successful December, said that "addressing nan injustice we do to excessively galore Americans because of overpayments, nan alternatively cruel-hearted and mindless measurement that we retrieve those overpayments," is among his apical priorities.
He said he has actual steps successful mind, specified arsenic establishing a statute of limitations, shifting nan load of impervious to nan agency, and imposing a 10% headdress connected clawbacks for immoderate beneficiaries.
"We do person nan expertise and we do person nan authority to reside galore of these injustices," he said, suggesting that nan SSA won't person to hold for legislature action.
The promise comes aft an investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group tv stations revealed that SSA routinely reduces aliases halts monthly use checks to reclaim billions of dollars successful payments it sent to beneficiaries past later said they should not person received.
In immoderate cases, years passed earlier nan authorities discovered its correction and past imposed debts that sometimes person reached tens of thousands of dollars connected group who cannot spend to pay. KFF Health News and Cox Media Group discovered that much than 2 cardinal group a twelvemonth have been hit pinch overpayment demands.
Most overpayments are linked to nan Supplemental Security Income program, which provides money to group pinch small aliases nary income, who are disabled, blind, aliases astatine slightest property 65. Others are connected to nan Social Security Disability Insurance program, which immunodeficiency abnormal workers and their dependents.
O'Malley said nan agency plans to cease efforts to claw backmost years-old overpayments and halt nan believe of terminating benefits for abnormal workers who don't respond to overpayment notices because they did not person them aliases couldn't make consciousness of them.
"We're not fulfilling legislature intent by putting seniors retired of their homes and having them unrecorded nether a span erstwhile they didn't understand our notice," O'Malley said.
Denise Woods lives successful her Chevy, seeking a safe spot to slumber each nighttime astatine portion malls aliases motortruck stops astir Savannah, Georgia. Woods said she became homeless successful 2022 aft nan SSA — without mentation — wished it had overpaid her and demanded she nonstop backmost astir $58,000. Woods didn't person that magnitude connected hand, truthful nan agency trim disconnected her monthly disablement benefits to recoup nan debt.
The agency later restored immoderate of her use allowance: She gets $616 a month. That's not capable to screen rent successful Savannah, wherever moreover humble workplace apartments tin tally $1,000 a month.
In January, she fell sick and landed successful intensive attraction pinch pneumonia. "I signed a [Do Not Resuscitate form] and a caregiver asked, 'Do you cognize what this means?'" Woods said. "I told her location was nary logic to revive maine if my bosom stops. They person already ruined my life. I'm beyond exhausted."
After KFF Health News and Cox Media Group published the bid "Overpayment Outrage," hundreds of disablement beneficiaries came guardant pinch troubling accounts, including really nan authorities sent them overpayment notices without mentation and threatened to trim disconnected their main root of income pinch small warning.
Members of Congress publically demanded that SSA hole nan problems. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said he would meet monthly pinch agency officials "until it is fixed."
Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, some Michigan Democrats, sent a letter dated Feb. 29 to nan SSA, saying galore overpayments were caused by nan agency. They asked officials to explicate what is causing nan problems.
"It's perfectly captious that nan agency is accurately administering these benefits," Peters said successful written consequence to an question and reply request. "I've heard from excessively galore group crossed Michigan who person faced financial hardship aft nan agency sent them incorrect payments."
The agency recovered $4.9 cardinal of overpayments during nan 2023 fiscal year, pinch an further $23 cardinal successful overpayments still uncollected, according to its latest annual financial report.
O'Malley said he wants to reside overpayment clawbacks arsenic portion of a larger effort to reside SSA's "customer work crisis." He did not supply specifics but said he anticipated plans would beryllium implemented this year.
Officials person agelong acknowledged that nan national disablement strategy is dogged by lengthy delays and dysfunction. Some group go bum aliases turn sicker while waiting for an first determination connected an application, which took an mean of complete 7 months successful 2023, according to a missive signed by dozens of members of Congress.
O'Malley said nan agency terminates disablement benefits for immoderate group who don't interaction nan SSA aft receiving a clawback letter.
"To beryllium honest, a batch of problems [are caused by] our notices being difficult to read," O'Malley said. "In fact, 1 mightiness reason that nan only point that's really clear astir nan announcement is to telephone nan 800 number."
The agency's toll-free number, O'Malley said, is connected his fix-it list, too.
Callers kick of lengthy clasp times and often are incapable to scope an supplier for help, according to congressional members, disablement attorneys, and others.
O'Malley pointed to a 27-year debased successful staffing. "We've been unpacking galore of these customer work challenges," he said. "There's not 1 of them that hasn't been made worse by nan short staff."
Still, he said, nan overpayment process is unfair. Beneficiaries often must nutrient grounds to show they did not person other money, O'Malley noted.
"One would presume that successful a state wherever group are guiltless until proven guilty," he said, "that nan load should autumn much connected nan agency than connected nan unwitting beneficiary."
Advocates for nan mediocre and abnormal said they are hopeful O'Malley will instrumentality to his commitments.
"Overpayments person agelong plagued our clients and caused terrible hardship," said Jen Burdick, an lawyer pinch Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, which represents clients who person received overpayment notices. "We are heartened to spot that SSA's caller commissioner is taking a difficult look astatine overpayment argumentation reforms and optimistic and hopeful his management will supply these folks immoderate long-needed relief."
Mike Pistorio is worried that alteration won't travel accelerated capable for him.
A missive dated Sept. 21, 2023, that he received from nan Social Security Administration says he was overpaid $9,344. The missive alleges Pistorio — a abnormal 63-year-old who said he has 4 stents successful his bosom — received excessively overmuch money connected behalf of his children, who are now adults.
Pistorio said that he doesn't understand why he owes nan authorities money and that nan SSA has not answered his questions. He said he and his woman unrecorded successful fearfulness of being evicted from their location because they dangle connected his $1,266 monthly disablement benefits to salary rent.
"What makes maine huffy is nary of this is my fault," said Pistorio, who lives successful Middletown, Pennsylvania, and worked arsenic a plumber until his wellness faltered. "The accent of this has made my glucosuria spell up."
Pistorio said nan agency has offered to deduct $269 a period from his benefits to salary disconnected his indebtedness — an magnitude he says he cannot afford.
"I person told them 'I will suffer my housing,'" Pistorio said.
David Hilzenrath of KFF Health News and Jodie Fleischer of Cox Media Group contributed to this report.
KFF Health News is simply a nationalist newsroom that produces in-depth publicity astir wellness issues and is 1 of nan halfway operating programs astatine KFF—an independent root of wellness argumentation research, polling, and journalism. Learn much astir KFF.
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