PHOENIX — "I'm really not dead."
It's a fact, but one that Dan Kapetanovic had to work hard to prove.
When he went to the hospital for an operation, he learned his healthcare had been canceled because the Social Security Administration had declared him deceased.
Reports saying Dan had passed went to banking and health institutions, so he was cut off.
"I couldn't access our checking accounts [or] savings account. I couldn't see anything," Dan said.
He went to a local Social Security office to prove he is alive. Dan tells us he was able to reactivate his banking accounts and health insurance, but it's an ongoing process he describes as a nightmare.
"I just... I can't sleep. I'm anxious about this," he said.
The Let Joe Know team reached out to the Social Security Administration. While they couldn't talk specifically about Dan's case, in an email they wrote in part:
Of these millions of death reports we receive each year, less than one-third of 1 percent are subsequently corrected. Deaths are reported to Social Security primarily from the States, but also from family members, funeral homes, and financial institutions.
If a person suspects they have been incorrectly listed as deceased, the SSA recommends contacting a local Social Security office right away.
People will need to have at least one piece of current, original form of identification.
The agency can provide people with a letter to share with other institutions proving you've been incorrectly declared deceased to help reopen closed accounts.
You can find your local SSA location and details here.
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