Exclusive: Social Security chief vows to fix "cruel-hearted" overpayment clawbacks
CBSN
The Social Security Administration's new chief is promising to overhaul the agency's system of clawing back billions of dollars it claims was wrongly sent to beneficiaries, saying it "just doesn't seem right or fair."
In an interview with KFF Health News, SSA Commissioner Martin O'Malley said that in the coming days he would propose changes to help people avoid crushing debts that have driven some into homelessness and caused financial hardships for the nation's most vulnerable — the poorest of the poor and people with disabilities or persistent medical conditions or who are at least age 65.
O'Malley, who took office in December, said that "addressing the injustice we do to too many Americans because of overpayments, the rather cruel-hearted and mindless way that we recover those overpayments," is among his top priorities.
