Bay Area HIV survivor owes $201K to Social Security after getting his disability benefits cut

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- We've told you all about the DOGE cuts and now, some concerning news for an HIV survivor in San Francisco.

Not only did the Social Security Office tell him that his disability benefits were being cut, they also told him he suddenly owes $201,079.10.

"I'm an almost 62-year-old man living on a fixed income in the most expensive city in the United States to live in, and they're cutting off my income. That's frightening!"

Paul Aguilar is a 38-year HIV/AIDS survivor living in San Francisco who recently got a letter from the Social Security Administration Office.

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"Informing me that there were concerns about my benefits and that they should have actually stopped December 2013, and that I now owed them over $200,000 and I had 30 days to pay that $200,000," says Aguilar.

The thing is, Aguilar has been on disability for his HIV status since 2005. He is physically unable to work full-time. The letter stated he shouldn't have received disability money from 2014 to 2025.

Dr. Monica Gandhi is his doctor and has been part of his journey. A journey where Aguilar was named Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal for San Francisco Pride 2023, highlighting his HIV advocacy work. In fact, Aguilar was on his way back from AIDSWatch in Washington DC when we spoke with him on Tuesday.

"All I can see and I've been watching his health for a while, is that every single time he should have been getting Social Security, he should have been getting Social Security like he needed that for his health," said Dr. Gandhi.

"Given my disability, I wouldn't be able to do a 40-hour a week job - there's just no way, I'm physically unable to do so," says Aguilar.

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Social Security Administration issued a statement saying, "Privacy laws preclude Social Security from discussing individual cases. We can share that the agency has reached out to Mr. Aguilar directly to address his concerns."

Aguilar, who is now working with a lawyer and has reached out to lawmakers, says he has applied for a waiver and started the process of appealing for reconsideration. He believes the DOGE cuts are to blame here and says his disability benefits including Medicare have been cut.

"The fact that they cut off my medical care scares me more than anything else because if I can't access my medical care, it means I can't access my medications which means eventually my HIV virus disease will spiral out of control and I could be dead in a year or two," said Aguilar.

"How hopeful are you during all of this? I guess you have to be hopeful," said ABC7 News reporter J.R. Stone.

"That's all I got. I've got good people around me, I've got support, I've got people who want to fight. I have to hope that right will win," replied Aguilar.