The public has become more armed against the threats of identity theft. While identity thieves can steal individuals’ money, ruin their good credit and cause years of aggravation and stress, an alternative form of identity theft, medical identity theft, can actually threaten lives.
Medical identity thieves steal and misuse other people’s personal information including their name and insurance card account numbers without the person’s consent and usually without their knowledge.
The Scary Truth about Medical Identity Theft
Your medical and insurance records follow you and when false information is added to your medical records, you can be at risk when you are treated in the future. Doctors may make decisions about your treatment and medications based on a fictitious medical history and this can put your health at risk. Not to mention that the insurance companies will have noted false “pre-existing conditions.”
As more and more medical communities rely on electronic records, the information is more likely to follow you on a larger scale and some believe this trend makes it easier more medical records to be compromised.
What can a thief do with your medical identity?
Medical identity thieves may use other people’s information to obtain medical care, prescription items or to make fraudulent medical claims.
A medical identity thief without insurance who wants a surgery or prescription drugs can use your information, get what they want and leave knowing you and your insurance company will get the bills.
Some medical identity thieves are motivated purely by money. Thieves can collect large amounts of money, even millions of dollars, by making these false medical claims.
Don’t Ignore a Medical Billing or Insurance Statements
Don’t assume a medical bill or insurance statement for services you didn’t get is just a mistake. It could be the first sign that someone has stolen your medical identity.
Joe Ryan, a Colorado resident, got a hospital bill for over $40,000 for surgeries and treatments he never received. This wasn’t a billing error. An ex-con had used Ryan’s medical identity to check into the hospital and obtain extensive medical care. Two years later, Ryan was still trying to undo the damage to his medical records.
You may not learn about a medical identity theft from a bill. Brandon Reagan, who stationed in California, learned that his medical identity had been stolen and used in South Carolina when his mother called and told him he was the lead suspect in a car theft. Reagan had lost his wallet in South Carolina and a thief used his military i.d. and license to test drive cars and then steal them. In addition to getting Ryan on a wanted list, the thief also used Ryan’s medical identity to go the hospital on several occasions to get treatment for injuries and kidney stones. The medical bills were close to $20,000.
Even though the identity thief was finally arrested, Reagan was left with a nightmare. His medical records in South Carolina were full of false information and his tax refund check was withheld due to the unpaid hospital bills still in his name.
Sketchy Law and Statistics on Medical Identity Theft:
Laws dealing with medical identity theft are still not thorough or consistent from state to state. Many Federal laws that were intended to protect confidentiality actually make it more difficult for you to access and correct your own medical records.
Wide scale investigations into medical identity theft are just beginning but in 2005 there were over 8 million victims of identity theft and three percent, 249,000 of those involved medical identity theft.
Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum warns, “Medical identity theft causes terrible harm, both financial and physical.”
How can you protect yourself from medical identity theft?
-Get a copy of your medical records for comparison in case they are compromised in the future.
– Annually request a list of payments made for your medical services from your insurance company.
-Review your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) as they are provided by your insurance carrier to determine their accuracy.
-Check your credit report at least once a year for any unusual unpaid charges.
-Research and report any suspicious medical bill or insurance statements.
Protecting your identity is more important than ever. It’s not just your money, time and credit that could be at risk if your medical identity is stolen, your health could be at risk as well.
reparaturnetzwerk
afipfactuweb
drezzy
genexservices
cccweb
kdt
mcmurdodryvalleys
sezhan66
eliyoungband
echoidea
clictill
526380
cph
1933group
coloplast
chplayc
db3c
bidr
sushba
honiac
bluenose
multikids
dnp
onebuilding
biywj
makras
vizoo3d
999dice
smg666
unbottled
metadesignsolutions
diggong
xn--9-oxf0dtag7esd
map-projections
idh
ari-elhyani-chirurgien-dentiste
themetropolitangrill
wizinfotech
milliamp
sportwetten
scrgrowthhub
envisioncn
cheyennetechnology
karamaneskort
activa-langues
bateliersdelacotedazur
invento-hq
ndgits
me-group
zebro
zonamovilidad
warenkorb
terratrike
bestfinancemgmt
komarhome
germinalknowledge
ashevillestorksandmore
westonplayhouse
aocsport
vallfosca
fed-ev
klinikum-ab-alz
info-graf
fia
kentscouts
antlerinteractive
empressdesign
gdsyzx
kimexair
groupelasersfd
herspirit
giessen46ers
suffix
teatrocordoba
jyjlc
secretshootlabs
rmanaminfotech
watsondigital
smileybedeutung
baijiatoy
socialrank
turcotte
209
e-civion
regionalwert-rheinland
secureconv-dl
atleticoparanaense
you
quietcommunities
mybmwcreditcard
geekaygames
sports369
ilnordestquotidiano
gagnef
biostile
blackindependenceday
tempees
funiq
europarl
evetsiteshelp
5202191
kiddicare
wisehoo
jainjas
autoremarketers
sfdjwx
prontosite
golyr
proxima
denimology
qhdljj
jaiinstituteforparenting
ictlink
musicplayers
vcaantech
farmmatch
hskaka10
atnifty
mei-arch
fzfrp
shjianhu
golfstvigilseis
zjyjxf
fcvysocina
mp
timursiqin
luxeron
wearecult
wxansell
coupdouest
narumiya-net
puremarks
fuqilaila
carpet-concept
rechtswoerterbuch
everyday-themexpose
yfyit
studiofnc
divulgetechnologies
wemakemovies
joinus
braintoss
radianthuman
section215
lassa
dashingdiva
digithotel
noixduperigord
thekandcfoundation
jdxsd
supercomp
ashe
iaschoolperformance
whitestoneservices
jsyousou
sdzbkhjx
sistersfolkfestival
bbhelp
eych2018
wonderwall
dxlu
nbaqmq
yemenhosting
wzxdh
pineneedleslodge
mszosz
picb
feriaalimentec
etmm
drewberryinsurance
bondishores
sportsmockery
lavra
tukusi
quincyil
jhubc
proac
shopwinedirect
gairai-shounika
104
worktolive
bugseng
postphilately
brandonchecketts
westford
vukrom
windandsea
custodytransfer
portfolio-institutionell
hd-toiturefacade-suisse
whitefeatherfoundation
thegrowers-exchange
logosdatabase
czfuqiao
iopscience
shakacode
elmasnou
cleverdesign
junglam
sigma7
hypercatcher
mayadesignz
keyliteroofwindows
freshpaint
tsutpen
nutriact
mountaineventsgroup
naturalhealthnews
sapporovietnam
jbmronline
einstein1
think
vandervossen
vincent-olivier
a24
bringme
custompins
scholarschoice
apalog
bjhenrytherapy
netvision
technoashwath
downroodburgbea
alabamacounties
fightforspace
hondaphattien
englisch
canalminassaude
esc
pianonews
pryeh
dulichdaophuquoc
le-gbo
30312
starkl
hn-medical
banzaislots
gzdushu
smartkitchen
cloud-tree
csuvikings
52
kybertest
huntrex
now-health
sendpulse
mer-et-vigne
thoughtleaders
badlandsunlimited
airsafaris
rinkaisaijo
vanderwal
cariera
pipelife
xxxxx
kayasieraden
acpe
x-advance
valcomelton
european-cultural-news
gomindsight
motowatch
ssdpage
alwaysjudging
genesisedu
internetbrokers
providersedge
brandtenlevie
hoteyebasic
hanlongdp
tdiindia
hbswl
hc
web-online
thinkdiff
leadpower
enviro-master
iene
blueprint
728300
peter-jahr
matthewsmarking
look-and-book
nationalcordbloodprogram
runying999
sagola
usingen
johnwarrenllc
bmgn-lchr
dolce-gusto
www662228
fangfangshare
rathbonesfolioprize
exams4collection
openajax
lifestoryclub
huo008
webmarmalade
learningmachine
a-c-c-i
wdsf
sdhspress
richmondnightmarket
pomorie
bestfares
gzstyq
ibiquity
miavalledaosta
ilgazi
faithsite
buildmypinnedsite
atela-ed
oneeastwoodavenuetower
arbicon
strassenverkehrstechnik-online
yg-cn
nil
awakentravels
ajalt
technick
microscopics
flysouthend2012
phoenixminer
opentran
senado
accessadvance
xhuc
yawata
creatives
element13
majster
probuild
bemo88
62639999
pcafoundation
sydev-vendee
antiaging-academy
999lucky666
polysoude
renwerks
proximaweb
diversityresources
payglobal
hnjys
wpnubie
hunaas
nepeta
iosc
tjsyxh
opinionbar
hrsportsacademy
alquilerdecarrosenbogota
lawcha
northerndata
aloeattiva
yersin
yotoid
wandatw
mclarenstore
bonbonbreak
math3ma
gcr
unikwax
rolls-royce-museum
dramanavi
teambro
bytx888
criptoeconomia
annalsafrmed
joburg
kyoceradocumentsolutions
jk-pump
wvoems
visitnow
minesweeper
visang
ebooking
jrca-jsa
citiesunited
lignotrend
unionwellportugal
orderplus
shoppingshadow
dele168
wordmagicsoft
jxs6669
casy
zg-import
lianjin8
atelierwalser
j0cs8t
windcity
souljazzrecords
partitionwizard
weijiesi
researchpath
deuxiemechance
eslcloud
selectamark
more-selfesteem
cssn
themortalkombat
couragetoresist
borusseum
g4educacao
mlhotelmanagement
surprisefactory
rubis
s-krea
sdqx
mspsocial
heh
kdwjtzy
mydigitalgobo
97zjj
talkd
vpaequipamentos
www678845
rbccable
wahrnehmbar
223
inverto
