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Identity theft is a chilling ordeal -- when someone manages to extract your SSN, credit card, and other details, then opens accounts or spends through your credit limit, the devastation can already cost you years in credit report cleanup and possibly even an SSN change. Factor in the dollars wasted, the energy drain, as well as emotional toll that account and identity restoration can take on you, any form of identity theft is certainly a harrowing ordeal. Imagine the devastation, then, that medical identity theft can take on a victim. Medical identity theft is described in Wikipedia as something that "occurs when someone seeks medical care under the identity of another person." Let's say that the medical ID thief desperately needed the health services. Compassion may drive you to believe that you can probably forgive the ID Thief for using your healthcare insurance provider. That is, however, until you realize that once his ailments are on your record, it could confuse both your HMO/health insurance company and your healthcare provider. The thief's medical bills could be sent to you and you could get into debt for these bills. Then your credit report starts to suffer. Among the other risks of medical identity theft include possibly being victimized by an ID thief with a drug problem. This issue could hurt your job prospects, or even your existing career. What is worse is that you may be at risk for being reported to the authorities because the thief's records have been tied to your medical file, and consequently, your identity. In order to take measures to protect yourself from identity theft, you should do the following: - Don't ignore your medical and insurance statements. Read them regularly, word for word.
- After getting medical treatments, make it a point to read the Medicare Summary Notice that your health insurance provider may issue.
- Read your medical insurance provider's Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statement completely, as well.
- Regularly check your credit report for your medical collection notices. If you see entries you do not recognize, file a report immediately.
- Be on the lookout for:
- Medical bills for services you didn’t ask for.
- Notices from your health insurance provider alerting you that you've maxed out on your health benefits limit.
- Being denied of claiming insurance benefits because a condition you don't have shows up on your medical records.
- Calls from debt collectors about medical debts for treatments you've never received.
When you check your documents, make sure that you check these fields for id theft prevention:
- Name of the healthcare provider
- Date of service
- Services provided
As soon as you note discrepancies in your records, immediately file an ID Theft report with your medical insurance provider or HMO, as well as the police. This ensures that a paper trail can be established, and increases the chances that the thief could be apprehended.The key to preventing medical identity theft is really centered on stopping the act even before it starts:
- Don't fall for those advertisements that promote "free" medical services but require you to give them your Medical Insurance ID number.
- Don't ever give out your SSN, unless it's a well-known and highly secure website.
- Shred all your medical records, your mail, and even the labels on your prescription medication. Some thieves go through dustbins, as well as actually steal mail.
We've now outlined how id theft can make your health insurance costlier, among the other, deadlier risks of medical identity theft. Be wary, be aware, regularly check your records, and protect yourself and your family from medical identity theft.Amy is an active blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance related articles to encourage people to manage and protect their finances. She also covers topics on monitoring credit regularly that can help people detect id fraud and prevent it. Follow her and discover more about how credit monitoring helps in id theft prevention.
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