ROCHESTER, N.Y. — If you’re on Social Security or care for someone who is, take another look at your mail. Two families got letters about changes in their payments that caused enough confusion, concern, and questions that they turned around and called News10NBC Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean.

“So my mom lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in a nursing home,” said Bill Engel of Irondequoit.

The Social Security letter Engel got about his mother’s payments got him doing some basic math. The letter gave a new payment, a new Medicare premium, and the difference. The answer is short 70 cents.

“And if she’s missing 70 cents from hers there’s probably a lot of people missing 70 cents. Or more,” Engel said.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “So, 70 cents from your mother. When you think about everybody that collects Social Security, we’re talking real dollars now.”
Bill Engel: “Oh yeah, for sure. I mean it’s millions.”

50 million to be exact.

The second letter came to Doris DeSantis in Greece. Her payment is missing more than 70 cents. She says it’s missing the 77 dollars she should get from her Medicare Advantage insurance company called WellCare. The payment is called a give-back. It’s kind of a premium rebate.

“Of course. I mean I need the money. Period,” DeSantis said. “I don’t get a lot now. So less $77, to me, that’s a lot of money.”

Rene Pettenski works at Lifespan and deals with all kinds of Medicare issues.

“Well, these letters are from Social Security which can be confusion,” Pettenski said.

Berkeley Brean: “In your experience, these letters can go out and cause confusion?”
Rene Pettenski: “A lot of confusion, yeah. Lots.”

Berkeley Brean: “So what do you recommend?”
Rene Pettenski: “Call Social Security and ask, ‘What are you sending me this for?’ and ‘What are you telling me that you’re doing? Explain it to me.'”

I contacted WellCare insurance Wednesday and again Thursday. He emailed Social Security Thursday. He asked them to reach out to the families and talk to them to clear up any mistake and allay their concerns. When News10NBC hears back from them, we’ll share that with you.

The experts at Lifespan say there will be another letter around Oct. 1 that will talk about changes to health care for Medicare recipients and Social Security recipients.

Rene Pettenski: “They will get from their current insurance carrier; they should look at that very carefully this year because there are lots of changes coming, for the insurance plans, for Medicare for 2025.”
Berkeley Brean: “Why do you think there will be changes?”
Rene Pettenski: “Just chit-chat that I’ve heard … there’s going to be lots of changes.”
Berkeley Brean: “I know you don’t know the changes, but changes that could end up costing them more money?”
Rene Pettenski: “Could, very well could.”

I emailed Social Security today and asked them to look into these situations and the letter they wrote. I contacted Wellcare, the health care insurance company. I asked them to look into this situation just to contact these families to allay some of the concerns that caused them to contact me.

A.I. assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News 10 uses A.I.