{"id":2540,"date":"2024-03-28T05:26:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T05:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=2540"},"modified":"2024-03-28T05:26:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T05:26:38","slug":"exclusive-social-security-chief-vows-to-fix-cruel-hearted-overpayment-clawbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=2540","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Social Security Chief Vows to Fix \u2018Cruel-Hearted\u2019 Overpayment Clawbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Social Security Administration\u2019s new chief is promising to overhaul the agency\u2019s system of clawing back billions of dollars it claims was wrongly sent to beneficiaries, saying it \u201cjust doesn\u2019t seem right or fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with KFF Health News, SSA Commissioner Martin O\u2019Malley said that in the coming days he would propose changes to help people avoid crushing debts that have driven some into homelessness and caused financial hardships for the nation\u2019s most vulnerable \u2014 the poorest of the poor and people with disabilities or persistent medical conditions or who are at least age 65.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Malley, who took office in December<\/a>, said that \u201caddressing the injustice we do to too many Americans because of overpayments, the rather cruel-hearted and mindless way that we recover those overpayments,\u201d is among his top priorities.<\/p>\n

He said he has concrete steps in mind, such as establishing a statute of limitations, shifting the burden of proof to the agency, and imposing a 10% cap on clawbacks for some beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have the ability and we do have the authority to address many of these injustices,\u201d he said, suggesting that the SSA won\u2019t have to wait for congressional action.<\/p>\n

The pledge comes after an investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group<\/a> television stations revealed that SSA routinely reduces or halts monthly benefit checks to reclaim billions of dollars in payments it sent to beneficiaries then later said they should not have received.<\/p>\n

In some cases, years passed before the government discovered its mistake and then imposed debts that sometimes have reached tens of thousands of dollars on people who cannot afford to pay. KFF Health News and Cox Media Group discovered that more than 2 million people a year have been hit<\/a> with overpayment demands.<\/p>\n

Most overpayments are linked to the Supplemental Security Income program<\/a>, which provides money to people with little or no income, who are disabled, blind, or at least age 65. Others are connected to the Social Security Disability Insurance program<\/a>, which aids disabled workers and their dependents.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Malley said the agency plans to cease efforts to claw back years-old overpayments and halt the practice of terminating benefits for disabled workers who don\u2019t respond to overpayment notices because they did not receive them or couldn\u2019t make sense of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not fulfilling congressional intent by putting seniors out of their homes and having them live under a bridge when they didn\u2019t understand our notice,\u201d O\u2019Malley said.<\/p>\n

Denise Woods is one of millions who have been targeted in the Social Security Administration\u2019s attempt to claw back billions of dollars it says was wrongly sent to beneficiaries. (Cox Media Group)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Denise Woods lives in her Chevy, seeking a safe place to sleep each night at strip malls or truck stops around Savannah, Georgia. Woods said she became homeless<\/a> in 2022 after the SSA \u2014 without explanation \u2014 determined it had overpaid her and demanded she send back roughly $58,000. Woods didn\u2019t have that amount on hand, so the agency cut off her monthly disability benefits to recoup the debt.<\/p>\n

The agency later restored some of her benefit allowance: She gets $616 a month. That\u2019s not enough to cover rent in Savannah, where even modest studio apartments can run $1,000 a month.<\/p>\n

In January, she fell ill and landed in intensive care with pneumonia. \u201cI signed a [Do Not Resuscitate form] and a nurse asked, \u2018Do you know what this means?’\u201d Woods said. \u201cI told her there was no reason to revive me if my heart stops. They have already ruined my life. I\u2019m beyond exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n

After KFF Health News and Cox Media Group published the series \u201cOverpayment Outrage,\u201d<\/a> hundreds of disability beneficiaries came forward with troubling accounts, including how the government sent them overpayment notices without explanation and threatened to cut off their main source of income with little warning.<\/p>\n

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Members of Congress publicly demanded that SSA fix the problems. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said he would meet monthly with agency officials \u201cuntil it is fixed<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, both Michigan Democrats, sent a letter dated Feb. 29<\/a> to the SSA, saying many overpayments were caused by the agency. They asked officials to explain what is causing the problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely critical that the agency is accurately administering these benefits,\u201d Peters said in written response to an interview request. \u201cI\u2019ve heard from too many people across Michigan who have faced financial hardship after the agency sent them incorrect payments.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agency recovered $4.9 billion of overpayments during the 2023 fiscal year, with an additional $23 billion in overpayments still uncollected, according to its latest annual financial report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Malley said he wants to address overpayment clawbacks as part of a larger effort to address SSA\u2019s \u201ccustomer service crisis.\u201d He did not provide specifics but said he anticipated plans would be implemented this year.<\/p>\n

Officials have long acknowledged that the federal disability system is dogged by lengthy delays and dysfunction. Some people become homeless or grow sicker while waiting for an initial decision on an application, which took an average of over seven months in 2023, according to a letter signed by dozens of members of Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Malley said the agency terminates disability benefits for some people who don\u2019t contact the SSA after receiving a clawback letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, a lot of problems [are caused by] our notices being hard to read,\u201d O\u2019Malley said. \u201cIn fact, one might argue that the only thing that\u2019s really clear about the notice is to call the 800 number.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agency\u2019s toll-free number, O\u2019Malley said, is on his fix-it list, too.<\/p>\n

Callers complain of lengthy hold times<\/a> and often are unable to reach an agent for help, according to congressional members<\/a>, disability attorneys, and others.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Malley pointed to a 27-year low in staffing. \u201cWe\u2019ve been unpacking many of these customer service challenges,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s not one of them that hasn\u2019t been made worse by the short staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he said, the overpayment process is unfair. Beneficiaries often must produce evidence to show they did not receive extra money, O\u2019Malley noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne would assume that in a country where people are innocent until proven guilty,\u201d he said, \u201cthat the burden should fall more on the agency than on the unwitting beneficiary.\u201d<\/p>\n

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