NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A woman who had been considered dead found out recently that the government still doesn't believe she's alive.

According to government paperwork, Laura Todd has been dead off and on for eight years, and Todd said there's no end to the complications the situation creates, WSMV-TV in Nashville reported.

"One time when I (was) ruled dead, they canceled my health insurance because it got that far," she said.

Todd's struggle started with a typo at the Social Security Administration. She said the government has assured her since the problem that they have deleted her death record, but she said the problems keep cropping up.

On Wednesday, the IRS once again rejected her electronic tax return. She said she's gone through it before.

"I will not be eligible for my refund. I'm not eligible for my rebate. I mean, I can't do anything with it," she said.

The problem is more common than people might think, the television station reported.

According to a government audit, Social Security had to resurrect more than 23,000 people in a period of less than two years.

The audit said the lack of documentation in the Social Security computer makes it impossible for the government's auditors to determine if the people are dead or alive.

Illinois resident Jay Liebenow also was declared dead.

He said Todd is now more vulnerable to identity theft because after someone dies, Social Security releases that person's personal information on computer discs. He said the information is sold to anyone who wants it, like the Web site Ancestry.com.

"Her personal identification is available in anyone's living room," Liebenow said.

"I thought, 'That's just horrible. It's never going to be over for me,'" Todd said.

Todd said she hopes that someone in Washington, D.C., will take notice so she can live a peaceful life. Todd has an appointment with the office of Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) on Friday.

In an e-mail, IRS representative Dan Boone said: "The IRS uses data from the Social Security Administration to update taxpayer accounts. Corrections to that data input by SSA normally post to the IRS database within seven to 14 days.

"Incorrect tax account data may cause an electronically-filed tax return to be rejected by the IRS. When a person has had an ongoing tax account problem, the IRS can monitor the person's tax account and notify him or her once it has updated with correct data. After the update, filing a return electronically should not be a problem."