Identity Theft Prevention and Medical Identity Theft Protection

If you're unfamiliar with medical identity theft, it is essentially what happens when a thief uses your health insurance information or social security number to acquire their own healthcare benefits, such as doctor's office or hospital visits, and even prescriptions. Medical identity theft is comprised of two different factors: one involving healthcare and one involving finances. This type of identity theft can come with long-term detrimental effects to its victims.
The more common forms of identity theft are easier to detect and correct than medical identity theft. Medical identity theft victims have often found that their health records have been tainted with false histories and diagnoses. Furthermore, many victims have received bills for surgeries and tests they never had, and even medications they were never prescribed (to their knowledge). The first order of medication identity theft protection is to always keep an eye out for medical services and notations that do not apply to you. If you get bills for services you never received or are asked questions regarding a medical history that isn't yours, chances are, you've been victimized.
When thieves fail to pay their share of insurance co-pays or medical deductibles, their victims will discover that their credit reports show debts they never incurred. Take medical identity theft prevention measures to ensure you're not one of these unfortunate people. Approximately one in six Americans are without medical insurance coverage; this makes it very tempting for some individuals to commit medical identity fraud, particularly in emergency situations. If someone is using your identity in a hospital emergency room, more than likely they will get away with it as these facilities may not be as scrupulous and cannot refuse care.
The U.S. government has not published statistics in regards to the number of medical identity theft cases that occur on an annual basis, but hospitals and insurance agencies concur that this type of fraud is becoming increasingly more prevalent. The World Privacy Forum has estimated that more than 250,000 Americans have been victims of medical identity theft. You may think that your medical and insurance information is relatively safe, but thieves may have an easier time of getting a hold of your data than you think. Insurance companies share patient information--including treatment protocols--making it a very real possibility that even clearing up your medical history will not protect you if you decide to change insurance carriers.
If a medical identity thief seeks treatment under your good name, you could find that you are uninsurable later on when you need treatment yourself--depending on the type of treatment the thief sought. It's well known that insurance underwriters will refuse coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and/or histories of using certain drugs. What can you do for the sake of your own medical identity theft protection? Here are a few tips that could save you a great deal of misery down the road:

• Open all notices from your insurance company right away. Any indicators of treatment you didn't receive should be disputed immediately. Shred these notices before throwing them away.

• As with any type of identity theft prevention, be sure to check your credit report on a regular basis. Unrecognizable medical bills should be disputed with the credit agencies and your insurance provider.

• Don't assume mail from hospitals or doctors' offices where you haven't been a patient is automatically junk. These could be notices of data theft, or even bills for services you never received. Notify credit reporting agencies immediately so they can place fraud alerts on your credit file. Be sure to also inform your insurance company.

• Think you have been the victim of Medicare or Medicaid fraud? Call 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477) or contact the Department of Health and Human Services at 1-800-368-1019/website: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/ .

• File a medical identity theft complaint with the Federal Trade Comission ( http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft ) by calling their toll-free Identity Theft Hotline: 1-877-IDTHEFT (877-438-4338).

Denise Richardson is an author, freelance writer and advocate who educates the public on identity theft protection, identity theft prevention and credit reporting issues. She is a Board member of American Consumer Credit Education Support Services, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on credit matters. She is founder of http://www.givemebackmycredit.com .