Healthcare costs, lack of insurance put Americans at risk for medical identity theft
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, April 14, 2008
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The results of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) survey suggest that nearly 250,000 Americans may become victims of medical identity theft, according to a Self article posted on MSNBC March 13.
The news that you're a victim of medical identify theft often arrives in a disturbing manner, Self reported. One woman received a $94 bill from an unfamiliar health clinic-her three-week-old son apparently had visited the clinic and received a prescription for the painkiller OxyContin for a work-related back injury. Another woman, who hadn't been pregnant in more than two years, received notification that the state planned to take custody of her four children because her newborn son had tested positive for methamphetamines. The thief's information also circulated electronically and intermingled with the victim's information, creating the potential for catastrophic medical error.
Also surprising is that medical identity theft isn't always the result of a lost or stolen wallet or a computer security breach, according to Self. One medical office manager printed 1,100 patient records and sold them to a relative for $5 to $10 per patient. And prosecutors in New York, California, and Florida uncovered a scheme in which criminals would buy a health center, steal information to file false insurance claims, and then close before anyone became aware.
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