Medical Identity Theft on the Rise
Medical identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your knowledge or consent to obtain, or receive payment for, medical treatment, services, or goods. Victims of medical identity theft may find that their medical records are inaccurate, which can have a serious impact on their ability to obtain proper medical care and insurance benefits.
Medical identity theft is becoming one of the biggest dangers that most people are
totally unaware of.
There are several different forms of Medical identity theft. Identity thieves may obtain names, and social security numbers of victims that have used their information to receive emergency medical care. Stolen medical insurance information, includes member ID’s and policy numbers that are used by these id thieves. Another way that id’s can be stolen and maybe even the most alarming, is medical office employees stealing personal data from patients by way of the office computers and then sell the information to people on the black market. There’s one notorious case were a clerk at a Florida clinic made over 2 million dollars stealing the records of 1,000′s of different Medical patients.
Some critics point to a lack of sufficient electronic safeguards which is one of the main causes and an ever increasing type of medical-related identity theft.
President Obama has a plan to electronically store everyone’s health care records over the next few years. Most of these records will be shipped overseas to have this work done. The systems is going to need a complete overhaul in order to prevent future problems.
The question is; “Do you really trust outside sources to protect your identity”? I don’t know about you but I don’t. That’s why I have and promote Pre-Paid Legal’s Identity Theft Shield. Unlike LifeLock™, PPL – Identity Theft Shield will actually restore your identity if you give them the POA to do so.
The following safeguards are recommended for any medical beneficiaries to protect their medial ID’s.
To detect medical identity theft, consider the following steps:
• Closely monitor any “Explanation of Benefits” sent by public or private health insurers. If anything appears wrong, raise questions with the insurer or the provider. Do not assume that there are no problems simply because you may not owe any money.
• Once a year (or more often, if you believe there is cause for concern), request a listing of benefits paid in your name by any health insurers that might have made such payments on your behalf.
• Monitor your credit reports with the nationwide credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to identify reports of medical debts.
You also have rights under federal law that can assist you in correcting inaccurate medical records.
These rights are described in greater detail at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.
They include:
• The right to request copies of your current medical files from each health care provider.
• The right to have your medical records amended to remove inaccurate or incomplete information.
• The right to an accounting of disclosures – a record of who has been given access to your medical records – from your health care providers and health insurers. This is very important in tracking down where inaccurate information may have been sent.
• The right to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the federal Department of Health and Human Services if a health care provider does not comply with these rights. In addition, many hospitals have ombudsmen or patient advocates who may be able to help you obtain medical records or provide access to information.
Please be aware that there may be fees for copying and postage if you request copies of your medical records.
Please see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa for more information.
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