the essential
Barely two weeks after the death of his wife, Maurice Schaffhauser was surprised to discover that he had been declared dead by Social Security. An administrative error which notably cost him his health coverage.
Maurice Schaffhauser, 67, is alive and well. However, this is not the opinion of the administration. This resident of Haut-Rhin was declared dead by Social Security following the death of his wife. An error which had numerous consequences for this retiree, who spoke to the microphone of TF1 Infos on Sunday December 1, 2024.
Maurice Schaffhauser learns that he is “presumed deceased” during a phone call from his wife's pension fund, two weeks after her death in September. Incredulous, he then passes the phone to his son who confirms that his father, sitting next to him, is indeed alive. The pension fund then explains to him that his wife's death certificate was poorly drawn up. But the sixty-year-old, who has the document in question in his possession, confirms that it is written in the name of his wife.
Quickly, the consequences of this error became concrete for Maurice Schaffhauser: his health card was deactivated. The retiree was forced to pay 200 euros in medical costs, as he was no longer covered. For several months, the man had to repeat calls to health insurance to try to restore his situation. “In the middle of mourning, health card problem. I already had the death of my wife to deal with, which I was already having difficulty with. And then, it all went away. So for me, it destroyed me,” confides -he.
He even had to obtain a “certificate of life” to prove his existence. Document that he must now submit “to each organization” to prove that he is alive, specifies the mayor of his town to TF1 Infos. The health insurance has, in the meantime, promised Maurice Schaffhauser that it would regularize his situation. He should receive a new vital card in mid-December.
