Medical Identity Theft Spreads; Purloined Data Often The Crime Of Insiders

Copyright 2008 Chicago Tribune Company Chicago Tribune

August 22, 2008 Friday Chicago Final Edition

SECTION: NEWS ; ZONE C; Pg. 10

LENGTH: 477 words

HEADLINE: Medical identity theft spreads; Purloined data often the crime of insiders

BYLINE: By Judith Graham, Tribune reporter

The problem of medical identity theft is on the rise, and it's often an inside job, experts say.

Between 250,000 and 500,000 people have their medical identities stolen each year, said Pam Dixon, who heads the World Privacy Forum, a non-profit group that helps victims of identity theft.

Most of the perpetrators are "people working in the health-care sector" -- for instance, billing or housecleaning staff or clerical workers at large hospitals who have access to confidential patient information such as Social Security and health insurance policy numbers, said Dixon, considered the nation's leading authority on the topic.

"This is the fastest-growing form of identity theft in America today," said James Quiggle, director of communications for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud in Washington.

Some health-care workers use the information themselves or give it to friends or associates to use fraudulently. Others might sell the information to criminals, reportedly for $5 to $50 a name, Quiggle said. Increasingly, large-scale criminal gangs are targeting medical identity theft as a profitmaking opportunity.

Gangs employ crooked providers to bill insurers fraudulently for services never actually delivered, collecting millions of dollars in revenue.

Less frequently, individuals steal someone's medical identity to get otherwise unaffordable care.

"With almost 50 million people considered uninsured today, medical identity theft may become a growing problem as more people become desperate enough to turn to crime to find treatments that they can- not otherwise get," Quiggle said.

In many cases the crimes are not discovered until a collection agency begins calling. Often, the thief will arrange to have the insurers' billing documents sent to a false address, said Jay Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center in California, another group that helps victims.

It's common for thieves to create fraudulent driver's licenses and insurance cards, which are all most medical centers ask for before they provide care.

"How hard do you think it is for me to go on the Internet and come up with a sample of your health insurance card, which I turn around and photoshop with the information I want on it?" Foley asked.

Even if the victim does not end up paying the bill, he will have to deal with false information in his medical and health insurance records.

Having someone else's information mixed in your medical record could compromise your own care. What if the test results or physical findings are those of someone else, but doctors use them when you have a medical emergency?

"Medical identity theft is just really beginning to seep into health-care providers' awareness," Dixon said.

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IN THE WEB EDITION: What can you do about medical identity fraud? Find out on Judith Graham's blog, Triage, at chicagotribune.com/triage

LOAD-DATE: August 22, 2008