Historical March 1991 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
A private company, new to the St. Louis area, is charging for information about Social Security and Medicare which is available free from the government. Social Security Medicare Information and News Service, Inc. (SSMIANSI), is listed as “Social Security Information” in the white pages of new St. Louis phone books. Although they are not affiliated with any government agency, their 800 number appears directly under listings for local offices of the Social Security Administration. Callers are referred by SSMIANSI’s 800 number to their 900 number which costs $4.99 for the first minute and 99 cents for each subsequent minute.
The 900 number service consists of a series of recorded messages about Social Security and Medicare.
The company’s messages state that they are not affiliated with the government.
But that disclaimer hasn’t kept at least one caller from visiting his local Social Security office to complain. That visitor to Social Security’s Lemay Ferry office was upset because he thought that the Social Security Administration was trying to charge him money for information about his benefits.
The company’s name and its position in the phone book may be the cause of the confusion.
In addition, their 900 number contains a string of digits which are also found in Social Security’s nationwide tollfree number. SSMIANSI claims that they provide information about Social Security and Medicare that the government won’t tell; a statement that is disputed by Social Security officials.
The administration has repeatedly asserted that there are no hidden provisions or insider secrets in Social Security’s regulations.
The message played by the 900 number starts off with a two minute introduction which describes the tapes available to the caller and what buttons to push on your phone to access them.
In other words, it costs about six dollars to figure out how to use the service. One message offered begins with some general introduction about Social Security.
In that two minutes ($1.98) you can learn, for example, that the Social Security system is a large, complex bureaucracy which makes mistakes. You will also be informed that there is a lot of paperwork involved when you deal with the government.
The Social Security Administration continues to provide personal toll-free telephone service to people who call 1-800-234-5772. Free publications and answers to individual questions are also available at thirteen Social Security offices in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, March 1991.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1991_03.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
