Medical Identity Theft Victims - Options - Consequences
Most of the time, when someone finds they are the victim of a fraudulent scam, whether it is to steal their money or their financial identity, there is something they can do. They can contact the appropriate authorities, place credit holds on their personal reports, and even take legal steps against the perpetrator. It’s a whole other story, though, when we are talking about medical identity theft. Unlike other forms of identity theft, when a person’s medical records or insurance are utilized fraudulently, there is very little support, if any, that the person can seek once they have become a victim.
For example, the World Privacy Forum (WPF), a nonprofit public interest research group, issued a report that detailed information about a Colorado man who was the victim of medical identity theft. His Social Security number, address and name were all fraudulently used by someone that underwent surgery in the hospital. The man had no idea he had been such a victim until he received a bill collection letter for $44,000 that he supposedly owed to the hospital. After a couple of years, the man was still fighting to clear his name and identity of this crime.
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Many people are unaware of the importance and high risk associated with medical identity theft. This is because it doesn’t get nearly the amount of media attention that other forms of ID theft receive. The information that is stolen is usually obtained by trusted individuals working within the medical community (e.g., doctors, billing personnel, nurses, etc.). Those that seize the information then sell it to theft rings that pilfer it for all it’s worth, which collectively amounts to billions of dollars per year.
The end result is that innocent patients who had no idea that their information was ever given away or stolen end up getting billed for treatment they never received. In other cases, individuals apply to use their medical insurance, only to find that their limits have been reached. Additionally, they can be turned down for insurance because of bogus claims that have been recorded in their medical history reports. This type of fraud also has the potential to lead to death if someone uses incorrect medical records as the basis for administering health care. The presence of fraudulent claims on one’s record could also lead to an individual failing a physical health review that may be used for pre-employment screenings.
The problem with this type of theft is that it is very difficult to uncover. The type of electronic payment systems that are used in the medical billing industry help to keep such activity well-hidden. Even regularly checking one’s credit report is not a viable option that can be counted upon to help prevent or quickly catch such criminal action.
WPF also reports that often, with medical identity theft victims there is no clear path for recourse or assistance. Furthermore, the victim will likely have a long and difficult time trying to recover from the identity theft, if they are ever able to do so. Unlike traditional credit reports, where consumers have limited access to getting their own records updated and corrected, medical history records are primarily off-limits to patients. Until this is changed, and more steps are taken to ensure that patient records are kept safe, even from the hands of the “trusted” professionals, preventing the theft of one’s medical record is largely in one’s own hand.
But what can an individual do? Waiting until something signals that there may be a problem is too late. By then, the person’s medical record may well have been sabotaged, wreaking havoc with their insurance and their chances of obtaining new policies, leading to a host of other problems that can persist for years or even for a lifetime. The best thing that people can do is to take preventative measures to protect themselves, such as working with a company to have their information monitored monthly for fraud. Until the system is fixed, it’s really all anyone has to rely on. Come on something happens to signal there may be a problem is too late. are kept safe, even in the hands of the “rustedica”
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