http://articlecontinued.weebly.com/continued.htmlWhat is Medical Identity Theft? (continued)
• Medical Identity Theft
A fake license that wouldn’t fool a liquor store clerk can be used to rack up thousands of dollars in health care costs very easily. Insurance cards, generally, don’t bear photos or signatures. Using stolen medical credentials, a crook may visit multiple hospitals, pharmacies, and doctors to obtain services and drugs – often narcotics.
The records of these transactions are added to victims’ health care records, and should be visible on your Explanation of Benefits letters, but bogus healthcare transactions often go undetected for months or even years.
The MITA’s survey found that the average victim did not learn of medical ID theft until three months after it happened, and 30 percent victims could not determine when their health care credentials were improperly used. Health care privacy laws force victims to be intensely involved in investigations of medical fraud.
• Can't Get No Satisfaction
If you’ve ever challenged a hospital bill, you know how hard it can be to prove that you did not authorize or receive the treatment claimed. Only 10 percent of victims in MITA’s survey indicated they were “completely satisfied” with the resolutions of their cases. About 65 percent of respondents said they ended up paying an average of over $13,000 to resolve disputed claims.
MITA estimates that medical ID theft crimes are a $5.6 billion industry. Larry Ponemon, head of The Ponemon Institute that conducts MITA’s annual surveys, believes that “a medical record is considered more valuable than everything else" to cybercrooks. Credit cards expire and are replaced frequently, rendering them useless to fraudsters after a short time. But Social Security numbers and personal health information don’t change; a crook can use them practically forever.
There is no way to “freeze” health care credentials as one can freeze a credit card account. There are no centralized reporting agencies analogous to Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax that collect health care activity and can monitor it for suspicious patterns. Health care providers are trained to be helpful to patients, not skeptical of their identities.
In short, there are very few protections against medical ID theft and little help resolving its consequences. My 10 Tips to Avoid Identity Theft will help you safeguard your personal and financial records.
Aside from that, the most important thing you can do to guard against medical ID theft is reactive: read all of those “explanation of benefits” letters that come from your health care providers and insurance company as soon as they arrive. If you see anything suspicious, do not delay in challenging it.
Are you concerned about other forms of identity theft? Your best defense is knowledge and a proactive stance. See my articles Free Credit Reports Online and 10 TIPS: Identity Theft Protection to learn what steps you can take, both online and offline, to protect yourself.
• Medical Identity Theft
A fake license that wouldn’t fool a liquor store clerk can be used to rack up thousands of dollars in health care costs very easily. Insurance cards, generally, don’t bear photos or signatures. Using stolen medical credentials, a crook may visit multiple hospitals, pharmacies, and doctors to obtain services and drugs – often narcotics.
The records of these transactions are added to victims’ health care records, and should be visible on your Explanation of Benefits letters, but bogus healthcare transactions often go undetected for months or even years.
The MITA’s survey found that the average victim did not learn of medical ID theft until three months after it happened, and 30 percent victims could not determine when their health care credentials were improperly used. Health care privacy laws force victims to be intensely involved in investigations of medical fraud.
• Can't Get No Satisfaction
If you’ve ever challenged a hospital bill, you know how hard it can be to prove that you did not authorize or receive the treatment claimed. Only 10 percent of victims in MITA’s survey indicated they were “completely satisfied” with the resolutions of their cases. About 65 percent of respondents said they ended up paying an average of over $13,000 to resolve disputed claims.
MITA estimates that medical ID theft crimes are a $5.6 billion industry. Larry Ponemon, head of The Ponemon Institute that conducts MITA’s annual surveys, believes that “a medical record is considered more valuable than everything else" to cybercrooks. Credit cards expire and are replaced frequently, rendering them useless to fraudsters after a short time. But Social Security numbers and personal health information don’t change; a crook can use them practically forever.
There is no way to “freeze” health care credentials as one can freeze a credit card account. There are no centralized reporting agencies analogous to Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax that collect health care activity and can monitor it for suspicious patterns. Health care providers are trained to be helpful to patients, not skeptical of their identities.
In short, there are very few protections against medical ID theft and little help resolving its consequences. My 10 Tips to Avoid Identity Theft will help you safeguard your personal and financial records.
Aside from that, the most important thing you can do to guard against medical ID theft is reactive: read all of those “explanation of benefits” letters that come from your health care providers and insurance company as soon as they arrive. If you see anything suspicious, do not delay in challenging it.
Are you concerned about other forms of identity theft? Your best defense is knowledge and a proactive stance. See my articles Free Credit Reports Online and 10 TIPS: Identity Theft Protection to learn what steps you can take, both online and offline, to protect yourself.