Medical Id Theft: Our Financial Health at Stake

by Heather Wells

As someone who works on behalf of victims of id theft, I have seen the cases of medical identity theft increase over the past few years. It’s hard to tell whether this is because medical id theft is becoming more well-known and therefore reported more often by the public, or if this type of fraud is actually growing in number. I think it’s a little of both.

In a recent article from the Chicago Tribune, reporter Judith Graham interviews several id theft experts including Pam Dixon from the World Privacy Forum. Dixon describes most medical id theft perpetrators as “people working in the health-care sector” who have access to people’s social security numbers, insurance information, and health records. According to Dixon, these id thieves sell this type of stolen data for cash or use it themselves to commit fraud upon private health insurance companies and federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Graham also interviews James Quiggle from the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud in DC, who says that “with almost 50 million people considered uninsured today, medical identity theft may become a growing problem as more people become desperate enough to turn to crime to find treatments that they cannot otherwise get.”

I’ve personally seen victim’s credit reports with collection accounts for ER visits, cancer treatments, and children’s medications. It’s paints a sad story for all involved parties, including the id theft victim, of course.

So, whether it’s done for profit or out of desperation, consumers need to be aware that medical id theft can happen to them and be informed and remain vigilant. People should continually check their credit reports, insurance benefit statements, and health records for discrepencies and fraud.

The World Privacy Forum website has some great information on this topic.