Julie Spradlin knew there was a problem right away when she read the notice from the Social Security Administration. Spradlin, from Union City, Georgia, has cerebral palsy and has not been able to work since 2012. She received a notice stating that her disability benefits would increase to more than $3,400 monthly. The agency even sent her a check for $18,000 as a lump-sum payment of what they supposedly owed her in back pay.
Since the amount was wrong, Spradlin and her brother Jonathan continued to call Social Security, tried to give back the money, and requested that the agency stop sending more payments. Spradlin ended up returning more than $26,000 to the federal government.
Rather than ending the ordeal, repaying the money led to even more confusion. Spradlin later received another letter from Social Security claiming that she had earned $142,000 in 2024 while working for a company called Treehouse Pooled Investment in Cupertino, California. That was impossible because Spradlin had not worked in more than a decade and had never worked for that company.
The consequences of that nonexistent income have been severe. The inaccurate report of those earnings has placed both Spradlin’s Medicaid coverage and her federally subsidized housing at risk. She has already received a notice from the state denying Medicaid coverage based on the falsely reported income, leaving her to fight yet another bureaucratic battle caused by mistakes beyond her control.
Unfortunately, Spradlin’s experience is far from unique. Many people have received similar letters containing inaccurate information, forcing them to spend months or even years correcting mistakes that they did not create. These errors can place critical benefits at risk and create tremendous stress for people.
I know this stress firsthand because I have received similar letters. In August 2023, I received a letter from the Social Security Administration saying that I had been overpaid earlier that year. Ironically, the letter itself showed that I had received the correct amount of benefits.
I was still forced to file an appeal to keep my benefits. Thankfully, the appeal was successful. However, it should never have been necessary.
I also received a letter saying that I had too many assets to qualify for SSI. At the time, I had $2,034 in my bank account because I had not yet paid my rent. Because the SSI asset limit is $2,000, the agency determined that I was $34 over the limit and threatened to discontinue my benefits. The idea that someone could lose essential benefits over such a small amount shows just how frustrating these rules are.
As someone with cerebral palsy who relies on both SSI and Medicaid, stories like Julie’s are especially troubling. Access to healthcare, housing, and home and community-based services can determine whether a disabled person remains independent or is forced into an institution.
When government agencies make mistakes, the burden of fixing them frequently falls on the very people who can least afford the consequences. Julie Spradlin did everything right. Yet she is still fighting to keep the benefits she depends on because of inaccurate information in a government database.
Disabled people should not have to fear losing their healthcare, housing, or financial security, because of administrative errors or arbitrary eligibility rules that punish people for being poor. The systems we rely on should help protect people, not disrupt their lives. The threat of losing the resources that someone needs in order to survive creates an environment of fear, which prevents people from thriving within their community.
Source:
Gray, Justin. “Social Security Errors for Woman with Disability Put Her in Danger of Losing Her Medicaid.” WSB-TV Channel 2 Atlanta, 8 June 2026, https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/extra-social-security-payments-woman-with-disability-put-her-danger-losing-health-insurance/OO5MGYDZEVEOVKPJQXMP42FPSU/?outputType=amp