Potent Potential Medical Problem: ID Theft

Susan Koeppen: It Could Leave You Holding Bag For Huge Bills, Affect Your Credit Rating, Med Records, Med Insurance, More

(CBS)  A little-known but serious and growing form of identity theft could get you sick, and potentially be incurable.

Medical ID theft involves someone pretending to be you, getting all kinds of medical treatments, from simple medications to life-saving operations, then leaving you responsible for bills totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the third and concluding part of Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen's series, "Early on the Case: Stolen Identities" Wednesday, she described how such ID theft can wreck havoc with your wallet, credit rating, current medical insurance, ability to get medical insurance, and even your medical records themselves.

If someone steals your medical ID, "You're screwed," says Robert Siciliano, head of IDTheftSecurity.com. "A person can go in and they can get all types of surgery, any type of medical treatment, even to the point of giving birth, and do it under somebody else's name. Any type of medical procedure that you can think of, someone can get under your name."

According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 200,000 people fall victim to medical ID theft each year.

And that, says, Siciliano, "means if (the person using your medical ID) has allergies to certain medications, if they have certain health ailments, that is going to show up on your medical record and affect your ability to get health insurance."

He says hospitals and doctors' offices score about a C-minus when it comes to identifying and authenticating patients when they check in.

Some hospitals are now using high tech tools at check in to prevent fraud. One such tool requires patients to wave their hands over a scanner. The device then instantly confirms they are who they say they are, and calls up their medical history.

Experts say it can take months or years to set things right if someone gets hold of your medical ID. Sometimes, it can last a lifetime, they add.

To protect yourself from medical ID theft, experts prescribe that you check the explanation of benefits forms you get from insurance companies line-by-line to make sure they're correct -- don't just throw them away. And, if your wallet is stolen, notify your insurance company that your insurance card is gone and someone may be trying to use it.