A Florida woman battling pancreatic cancer was left without medical coverage after the federal government mistakenly declared her dead — a bureaucratic blunder that has stalled her treatment and forced her family to beg for help during a nationwide government shutdown.
Patty Rosher, of Pace, Fla., learned she was considered deceased by the Social Security Administration after her husband’s death in May, her daughter, Catina Lacsamana, told local outlet WEAR-TV.
The error caused Rosher’s Social Security, Medicare and supplemental insurance benefits to be immediately terminated.
Patty Rosher, of Pace, Fla., learned she was considered deceased by the Social Security Administration after her husband’s death in May.
The family only discovered the mistake months later — when Rosher, 68, was diagnosed with aggressive pancreatic cancer and learned she couldn’t start chemotherapy because her insurance coverage no longer existed.
“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.”
According to the family, the mix-up began shortly after Rosher’s husband died.
When Lacsamana attempted to access her mother’s survivor benefits, she noticed the payments appeared in the bank account as “pending” before being returned to the government.
“Come to find out, when my father was declared deceased, so was she,” Lacsamana said.
“So she was not therefore eligible to get any benefits.”
Rosher (seen left with her daughter Catina Lacsamana) has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
The mistake instantly cut off Rosher’s access to critical healthcare, just as she faced a life-threatening cancer diagnosis.
“This was a sense of urgency for us,” Lacsamana said.
“Knowing what she’s got facing medically, we headed down to the Social Security Administration office and we were told that we wasted our trip — that there was nothing they could do.”
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Officials at the SSA reportedly told the family their hands were tied due to the government shutdown, which has left the agency operating with a skeleton staff.
Rosher’s daughter, a nurse practitioner, said the family is now considering paying out of pocket for her mother’s treatment while trying to reverse the federal error.
Pancreatic cancer often requires immediate and aggressive chemotherapy, with delays significantly lowering survival odds.
The error caused Rosher’s Social Security, Medicare and supplemental insurance benefits to be immediately terminated. Rosher is seen right with daughter Tina Bordelon.
Desperate for answers, the family reached out to their local congressman, Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Fla.), who promised to intervene.
“This is what we do — we pick up the phone, we call, we advocate, we break things loose,” Patronis said in an interview.
“This is the first I’ve heard of it, but I would love to go engage on her behalf.”
Within hours of the story airing, Patronis’s office contacted the family, Lacsamana said, raising hopes that her mother’s benefits — and her ability to start treatment — could soon be restored.
While grateful for the outreach, Lacsamana said her mother’s ordeal highlights systemic failures in the nation’s healthcare bureaucracy.
“The lack of empathy from people who are really there to serve the people,” she said.
“I feel like I’m a healthcare provider, a nurse practitioner, and I see patients like this every day with their healthcare that aren’t getting the coverage.”
Rosher’s case is far from unique.
Fewer than 10,000 Americans are mistakenly declared dead each year by the Social Security Administration, triggering automatic terminations of federal benefits and insurance coverage, according to government data.
Every year, hundreds of Americans are mistakenly declared dead by the Social Security Administration. Christopher Sadowski
Victims often face months of red tape before being “brought back to life” in the government’s records.
The current government shutdown has only worsened the delays. With limited staff and frozen administrative functions, even urgent cases like Rosser’s have been caught in limbo.
As of this week, Rosher remains without coverage and cannot begin her cancer treatment.
“I just feel like as a society and as the greatest country in the world, we can do better,” Lacsamana said.
The Post has sought comment from the Social Security Administration.