05/2019 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 39The problem: Medical identity theft—when
a criminal uses your health information to
receive medical care or prescription drugs
or file insurance claims in your name—is rare,
but it’s hard to shake and likely on the rise.
In the fall of 2017, Tyler P. of Austin, Texas,
received a call from the billing department of
a local hospital for an emergency-room visit
the month before, saying that he owed $7,000
for back surgery. Tyler had been on a plane to
Memphis the day the hospital said he had
checked in for the procedure. After losing his
wallet a few months earlier, Tyler had frozen
his credit and was scrutinizing all his bills for
any sign of fraud. But with just his driver’s li-
cense and an insurance card, a thief had all he
needed to ask for a back operation and a week-
long stay in recovery. “It was nuts,” Tyler says.
Tyler made a f lurry of phone calls, first to
his insurance company, then to the police, then
to the hospital to begin disputing the charges.
But the real challenge was untangling the
criminal’s medical records from Tyler’s.
“There were a lot of people [at the hospital]
who didn’t know what to do with me,” he says.
Eventually, Tyler connected with an adminis-
trator in the billing department who agreed to
work with him.
Beyond the bill, having incorrect informa-
tion in a medical record can have deadly con-
sequences years after the crime; for example,
you could be denied a certain treatment due to
an allergy or condition on records left behind
by an identity thief.How to avoid it: Your health providers are likely
to ask for your Social Security number, but
your health insurance information is usually
enough to receive and manage care, especially
if you’ve used the provider in the past. Thank-
fully, the Social Security Administration
stopped printing Medicare cards with SSNs
on them in 2018.
Review statements you receive from yourMEDICAL
ID THEFT
Avoid health care hijackers.