Did you know that…  

• 28 million Americans have been victims of this crime in the last five years. 
• According to CBS News, “Every 79 seconds, someone’s identity is stolen.”
• The direct cost to us, the consumer, is over five billion dollars. 
• According to the FTC almost 60% of identity theft issues don’t pertain to existing credit card accounts. 

Are you aware of medical identity theft?  Do you know there are approximately 250,000 cases per year?  It is estimated by one of the largest health insurance companies that $600 million per year in expenses is attributed to medical identity theft.  We the consumers pick up the tab for this in higher medical costs and higher health insurance costs. 

Medical identity theft occurs when someone uses a person’s name and other parts of their identity (such as insurance information) without the person’s knowledge or consent - to obtain medical services or goods or to make false medical claims.  Medical identity theft frequently results in erroneous entries being put into existing medical records, and can involve the creation of fictitious medical records in the victim’s name. 

Medical identity theft is a crime that can cause great harm to its victims.  Yet despite the profound risk it carries, it is the least studied and most poorly documented of the cluster of identity theft crimes.  It is also the most difficult to fix after the fact, because victims have limited rights and recourses.  Medical identity theft typically leaves a trail of falsified information in medical records that can plague victims’ medical and financial lives for years. 

HIPPA rulings do protect our medical records, but has no real mechanism for enforcement.  Legislation has established penalties for such crimes, but there are no reporting mechanisms or inspections to make sure compliance is guaranteed.  There have been numerous cases where an employee of a hospital, doctor’s office or clinic sold patient information.  This crime is very profitable to the thieves involved in selling the information. 

What can you do to take an active roll in trying to protect your medical identity? 

Many hospitals use your social security number as your identification number when you become a patient.  Your social security number or other identification appears on your chart and wristbands for anyone to see. 

At check-in, ask the hospital to use a different number to circumvent this problem.  If they won’t cooperate with your request, ask them to black out all but the last four numbers.  Also request that the last the computer only show the last four digits of your social security number. 

You may not even know your medical records have been stolen until you are denied coverage because of a condition that is considered “pre-existing”, a condition you don’t have.  To protect yourself against this particular crime, ask for copies of your medical records.  Treat your them as you would your bank statements.  Make sure you go over your medical records on a regular basis; if anyone meddles with your information, you’ll be aware of it, and immediately be able to work toward correcting the situation. 

Once an individual’s identity has been stolen – trying to rectify the situation can take numerous hours and a substantial amount of money - including costly attorney fees.  Over the past several years numerous companies have sprung up offering protection.  Many insurance companies offer identity theft coverage extended from home and auto insurance policies.  However, none of these companies offer as broad as coverage as the identity theft shield. 

Kroll Inc. in partnership with the identity theft shield provides the expertise in working with those individuals that have had their identity stolen in addition to constant monitoring those that have purchased the protection.  For more than 35 years, Kroll has helped companies, government agencies and individuals reduce their exposure to risk.  Kroll is an operating unit of Marsh Inc., and with offices in more than 60 cities in the United States and abroad, Kroll can:

• operate and restructure businesses;  
• scrutinize accounting practices and financial documents;  
• gather and filter electronic evidence for attorneys;  
• recover lost or damaged data from computers and servers; 
• conduct in-depth investigations;  
• screen domestic and foreign-born job candidates;  
• protect individuals; 
• and enhance security systems and procedures.   

Over the last several years, Kroll has developed a unique solution for victims of identity theft.  Kroll has the expertise, the knowledge and experience that far surpass all of these new start up companies who offer to protect and restore (in some cases) identity theft.  

Who do you want on your side an experienced company or a start up company?    For more information on the identity theft shield please visit my website.

 Jan Vitale