Wrongly Declared Dead Leaves California Woman Without Health Care

An 86-year-old Santa Monica woman says she is broke and cannot access urgent medical care after the Social Security Administration wrongly declared her dead. The SSA has twice listed Sarah Van Leuven as deceased and purged her from Medicare and other health-insurance systems, she and her son say. The stroke survivor retired from the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2016—the same date the SSA lists as her death.

Her son, Jon Van Leuven, was first alerted to problems in 2023, but thought the issue had been resolved until her record was officially scrubbed from the SSA this year. He says there is a split between the main SSA database that shows she is alive and an auxiliary record that still marks her as deceased, complicating benefits and services.

Van Leuven's records show her retirement date matched the date of death, a quirk that has fed the confusion. As a result, she is "completely eliminated from the Medicare system," her son said, leaving her without health insurance. Banks have canceled her credit cards, and the government has clawed back years of pension payments she earned while working as a special education teacher.

Van Leuven, who survived a stroke, told KTLA that the lack of records on her essentially means she was never born, at least according to the federal government. "I’m really fortunate to have my children," she said. "Some people in my condition might not have children to help take care of us." The fallout has left her in a precarious financial and medical position as she seeks resolution.

A Social Security Administration spokesperson said privacy laws preclude them from commenting on specific cases. The family has reached out to California Senator Alex Padilla and Congressman Ted Lieu, who are reportedly assisting, and The Daily Mail sought comment from Padilla and Lieu on their behalf.

The case underscores how errors in government records can disrupt access to essential health and financial services for seniors, particularly when multiple federal programs rely on consistent, cross-cutting data. Officials and advocates say targeted reviews and error-resolution processes are needed to prevent similar situations from undermining care and security for older Americans.