Article about your medical card...
Medical identity theft doesn’t show up on your credit report. It doesn’t trigger a fraud alert. It looks like a billing error. By the time most people realize what happened, someone else’s blood type is in their permanent file.
Here’s how it works
Criminals use your name, SSN and insurance to get surgery, chemo, prescriptions and emergency care. They get the treatment. You get the bill. And something far more dangerous. You get their medical history under your name.
The World Privacy Forum calls this “the information crime that can kill you.” If you walk into an emergency room and your file shows the wrong blood type, a drug allergy that isn’t yours or a diagnosis that changes how a doctor treats you, the consequences aren’t financial. They’re fatal.
More than 2 million Americans have been victims. Average out-of-pocket cost: $13,500. Average time to untangle it: 210 hours. Getting false info removed from your medical record is a legal process that drags on for years.
Do these three things
1. Read every Explanation of Benefits your insurer sends. It’s not a bill. It’s a summary of every claim processed in your name. One procedure you don’t recognize is your first alert. Log into your insurer’s portal anytime to pull them up.
2. Request your medical records once a year. You’re legally entitled under HIPAA, and it’s free. Most providers use MyChart. Log in, find Health Summary or Medical Records, and look for anything that doesn’t match your history.
3. Guard your insurance card like cash. Don’t photograph it. Don’t text it. Don’t give the number to anyone who called you. Your health insurance number sells for up to $500 on the dark web. Your credit card number? About $5.
Turns out your insurance card is worth more than you think. Unfortunately, criminals know what it’s worth.
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