The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not be current. This website may contain links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; we do not recommend or endorse the contents of any third-party sites. Readers of this website should contact their attorney, accountant or credit counselor to obtain advice with respect to their particular situation. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or not act on the basis of information on this site. Always seek personal legal, financial or credit advice for your relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney or advisor can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective employers.
Credit.com receives compensation for the financial products and services advertised on this site if our users apply for and sign up for any of them. Compensation is not a factor in the substantive evaluation of any product.
By Kelly Santos
Medicare identification cards will be redesigned to remove Social Security numbers from the display in an effort to protect consumers from identity theft. The change—thanks to the passage of the Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act—was a long time coming. It follows a recent study that revealed beneficiaries were at risk for identity theft but couldn’t get new cards due to high costs. Beneficiaries are required to carry their Medicare cards on them at all times, but the cards use their SSNs for identification purposes.
“Seniors have spent a lifetime building their financial security,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat. “Their savings and credit should not be put at risk for identity theft if someone steals their card.”
Medical identity theft is on the rise. Roughly 1.85 million Americans were affected by medical identity theft in 2012—up from 1.49 million in 2011, according to the Third Annual Survey on Medical Identity Theft published by the Ponemon Institute.
The problem leads to serious consequences for victims. When identity thieves use your identity for medical care, their medical information (blood type, etc.) may be added to your record, adversely affecting your own treatment. When they repeatedly use your health insurance information, you may quickly reach caps that limit the services and medical devices that you’re eligible to receive. When you try to make a legitimate health insurance claim, your health plan may deny coverage once the caps are met.
This article originally appeared on Identity Theft 911 blog.
Image: Aaron Fulkerson, via Flickr
October 19, 2023
Identity Theft and Scams
May 17, 2022
Identity Theft and Scams
May 20, 2021
Identity Theft and Scams