Quick Hits: Woman Can’t Get Prescription Because She’s Deceased. Wait, What?

The Social Security Administration mistakenly listed a Texas woman as deceased, and now her pharmacy won’t honor her Medicare.

Nov 13th, 2019

Texas woman was listed as deceased, and couldn't get prescriptions filled.

Texas woman was listed as deceased, and couldn't get prescriptions filled.

ABC 13

A recent ABC 13 article covered a bizarre case in which a woman was denied insurance after she was mistakenly labeled as deceased. The mixup occurred at the Social Security Administration when her social security number was associated with a death certificate. The 73-year-old woman found out when she visited her pharmacy to pick up her prescription. She takes 9 and a half pills a day, which cost about $850 a month without insurance.

The woman has made multiple trips to the Social Security Administration to sort out the issue, but with no luck. The office gave her a letter to take to her pharmacy that read, “Our records incorrectly showed her as deceased. However, we have since found that she is alive.” But the letter didn’t work. When the article was posted on November 8th, she was still trying to sort out the confusion as her heart medication supply dwindled.

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