Nationwide Study on Medical Identity Theft

I read an article today about a study commissioned by Nationwide Insurance and conducted by Harris Interactive.  The topic of the study was the question of medical identity theft. The results only confirm what I have seen for the past 10 years or so. The public still does not understand that Identity theft in the medical field occurs.

The survey conducted by telephone, of only of people with health insurance, showed that 1 out of 6 (15%) respondents stated that they knew about Medical identity theft. When asked only 38%, of those who said they knew what medical identity theft was, were able to define it.

The depth of medical identity theft is growing each year. In 2010 there were 1.5 million persons victimized to a tune of $30 Billion dollars. The damage is clearly felt in the higher costs of medical services and insurance. The worse news is that there is no real solution in sight.

The various forms of medical identity theft manifest different problems and concerns. We have all heard the warning about what will happen should someone receives the wrong blood because of mixed files. So how about the victim who is denied medical equipment because his or her information was used by imposter to scam Medicare. There is the victim who has to defend himself in a court of law because of collection actions resulting from medical services provided to the thief. There is the problem of the medical issues of the imposter affecting the livelihood of the victim. There certain medical conditions that when reported make the wheels spin regardless of any other information. Imagine losing your pilot license when you are a flight school owner and training instructor.

I don’t want to be the voice in the wilderness calling out the danger but how much more will the medical system take before it collapses under the barrage of fraud?