A 68-year-old Florida woman diagnosed with pancreatic cancer has been blocked from starting chemotherapy after a clerical error by the Social Security Administration (SSA) mistakenly declared her deceased. The error led to the immediate termination of her Social Security benefits, Medicare, and supplemental health insurance, leaving her family to navigate a bureaucratic crisis during a government shutdown.
Patty Rosher of Pace, Florida, now faces a life-threatening delay in her medical care. Her family discovered the mistake only when they tried to schedule her first treatment and were told she no longer had coverage.
Key Takeaways
- Patty Rosher, a 68-year-old with pancreatic cancer, was mistakenly declared dead by the Social Security Administration.
- The error resulted in the termination of her Medicare and all insurance coverage, preventing her from starting chemotherapy.
- The mistake occurred after her husband passed away in May, and the family was told a government shutdown is delaying the correction.
- This is part of a larger issue where thousands of Americans are incorrectly declared deceased by the government each year.
A Devastating Diagnosis Meets a Bureaucratic Wall
The ordeal for the Rosher family began shortly after Patty Rosher’s husband passed away in May. According to her daughter, Catina Lacsamana, the administrative error occurred when the death of her father was processed. “Come to find out, when my father was declared deceased, so was she,” Lacsamana explained.
The family was unaware of the mistake for months. They only learned of the issue after Rosher received a diagnosis of aggressive pancreatic cancer and sought to begin treatment. When they arrived for a doctor's appointment, they were informed her coverage was gone.
“We went to go to the doctor’s appointment and they told us that she was no longer covered,” Lacsamana said. “Come to find out, her Social Security benefits have been terminated, as well as her Medicare and her supplemental insurance.” The discovery left the family in a state of shock, facing a critical health crisis without the financial support they had relied on.
An Urgent Fight Against Time and Red Tape
With pancreatic cancer, immediate and aggressive treatment is often crucial for improving patient outcomes. The delay caused by the insurance termination has created a high-stakes race against time for Rosher.
“This was a sense of urgency for us,” said Lacsamana, who is a nurse practitioner. Understanding the medical implications, the family immediately went to a Social Security Administration office for help.
The Impact of Government Shutdowns
During a federal government shutdown, many administrative agencies operate with only essential personnel. This can lead to significant delays in processing applications, correcting errors, and providing routine services. For individuals like Patty Rosher, these delays can have severe, real-world consequences, particularly when access to healthcare is at stake.
However, their efforts were met with frustration. “We were told that we wasted our trip — that there was nothing they could do,” Lacsamana recalled. Officials reportedly cited the ongoing government shutdown as the reason they could not process the correction, leaving the family with no immediate path to restore Rosher's benefits.
A Widespread Problem Amplified by Gridlock
While Patty Rosher's situation is alarming, it is not entirely unique. The Social Security Administration acknowledges that errors of this nature occur, impacting thousands of citizens annually.
A Not-So-Rare Mistake
According to government data, the Social Security Administration mistakenly declares fewer than 10,000 Americans dead each year. This error automatically triggers the termination of federal benefits, including Social Security payments and Medicare, creating significant financial and personal hardship for those affected.
Victims of these mistakes often face a lengthy and complicated process to prove they are, in fact, alive and have their benefits reinstated. The current government shutdown has compounded the problem, freezing administrative functions and extending the wait times for those caught in bureaucratic limbo.
For the Rosher family, the experience has highlighted systemic failures. “The lack of empathy from people who are really there to serve the people,” Lacsamana said, describing her frustration. “I just feel like as a society and as the greatest country in the world, we can do better.”
Hope for Intervention as Lawmakers Get Involved
Facing a standstill, the family reached out to their local representative, Rep. Jimmy Patronis, for assistance. The congressman’s office responded quickly, offering a glimmer of hope that the administrative logjam could be broken.
“This is what we do — we pick up the phone, we call, we advocate, we break things loose. This is the first I’ve heard of it, but I would love to go engage on her behalf.”Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Fla.)
Lacsamana confirmed that Patronis's office made contact with the family within hours of their story becoming public. While they are grateful for the intervention, the family remains focused on the immediate need to begin Rosher’s cancer treatment, considering paying for it out of pocket while the government error is resolved.
As of this week, Patty Rosher remains without health coverage and is still waiting to start her fight against cancer, a battle postponed not by medical necessity, but by a preventable administrative mistake.
