By Robert Henderson
Economic conditions, unemployment rate and the costs of health care in the U.S. contribute to the rise of medical identity theft. The Ponemon Institute published a study that reported 2012 saw 1.85 million people affected by medical identity theft, up from 1.49 million in 2011. The dollar impact is estimated at $41.3 billion per year.
The top two reasons cited for this particular type of identity theft are to obtain personal health services or to obtain prescription medications. Unfortunately, friends and family are often the people who steal the information for their medical needs. Because medical identity theft is such a complicated crime, protecting yourself by creating a Lifelock profile or a similar service may be worth your time and money.
Things to Look For
People often aren’t aware there is a medical identity theft problem until long after the event. One day, they get a letter from their insurance company or a huge bill from the hospital, up to 60-90 days after the medical services were provided.
Your hospital and insurance cards have a lot of personal information on them and should be treated like credit cards. As soon as you notice either one is missing, call the hospital or insurance company to get a replacement and put an alert on your account. You can request a call if anyone tries to use your cards for medical services.
People often don’t think to contact their health insurance companies if their purses or wallets are stolen. That should be the next step after contacting your bank and credit card companies.
You may get letters from your insurance company or doctor’s office and let them sit on your desk for days or weeks before looking at them. Every letter should be read to see if there are any charges you weren’t aware of. Contact your doctor or hospital to go over any charges you don’t remember. Hospital billing procedures are complicated, and you could see charges from three or four people for one visit.
Hospitals and doctor offices may send out bills to collect from insurance companies before you get a bill. That’s why it could be months after a medical procedure is done before you know anything about it. As soon as you see a charge you don’t understand, call about it. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to reverse the charges.
The most important thing to remember is to not ignore the problem, thinking it will just go away. These medical charges are assumed to be valid until you dispute them. If ignored, they could go to collections and damage your credit rating. You could even hurt your ability to get medical care for you and your family some day.
The Wrong Kinds of Friends
Many victims deal with the medical ID theft problem by paying the bills themselves because they discover a friend or family member had used their information. Nearly half of the people who know the person choose not to report the theft.
This is a difficult decision, but medical identity theft by anyone is a crime. If you make this choice, at least file a report so there is a record of it happening. Otherwise, you may find it more difficult to deal with, should it happen again.
Treat your medical information like gold. Make it difficult to get, and watch for anything suspicious on your accounts. If you don’t pay attention to your own medical information, you might have difficulty getting medical treatment for you or your family when you need it most.
Do you know anyone who has been a victim of medical identity theft? Share your experiences in the comments.