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We all know it is important to keep Social Security numbers (SSNs), credit card numbers and other personal information safe to protect against the possibility of identity theft.
But did you know it is just as important for you to keep your medical identity safe to prevent it from being used fraudulently? Medical identity information includes your name, birth date, SSN, Medicare identification number and address.
“It’s a growing problem, and in the electronic age it’s easier to submit these types of claims,” said Margaret Payne, Humana Military’s supervisor for Program Integrity. “Our department is very aggressive in pursuing every case of fraud. We feel identity theft is one of the most serious cases of health care fraud, not only because of the financial loss, but more importantly for the harm it causes the beneficiary.”
If someone steals your medical information and uses it to get medical services or to file false claims, the results can be disastrous. Medical identity theft frequently results in erroneous entries in your medical records or the creation of fake or false medical records in your name.
This incorrect information can remain in your medical files for years, and it may never be corrected or even discovered. A serious consequence of medical identity theft is the possibility of incorrect medical treatment based on the false medical history created by the imposter. To protect yourself, always review your explanation of benefits and medical bills to ensure you received the services billed to you.
Also, according to the nonprofit Patient Privacy Rights Foundation, your career can be put at risk. When hiring or promoting, many companies—including more than a third of the Fortune 500 companies—demand access to medical records before making their decisions. If there is false information in your files due to medical identity theft, you could fail required pre-employment physical exams or background checks.
“One of the more serious situations we’ve had recently is an individual who required a security clearance. Unpaid medical bills showed on his credit report as a bad debt when a background check was performed,” Payne said. “This could have resulted in the beneficiary being terminated from his job due to erroneous bad credit. The bills were not paid because they were false claims, and even with us helping him it may take a while to get this off his record.”
You can report medical identity theft to the Humana Military Program Integrity Department in the following ways:
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