Katrina Brooke felt well prepared for the birth of her son, Andrew, three Aprils ago.
The only complication was her cesarean section; otherwise, everything went smoothly.
But the more Brooke scrutinized the letter, the more concerned she grew.
The Brookes had become victims of a crime they’d never heard of: medical identity theft.
“People aren’t aware of this unless it happens to them,” Brooke says.
“When you first get the bill, you’re confused.
Then when you delve into it, you think, What other information do they have?
What else is going to happen to us now?
At that point, it was scary.”
Luckily for the Brookes, the clinic agreed to waive its charges.
But for many victims, the crime doesn’t surface until unthinkable damage has been done.
Unlike a stolen credit card or savings account number, this kind of identity theft could be life-threatening.
That means nearly 250,000 Americans may be victims each year.
After a tense few days of phone calls with child services, Sachs was allowed to keep her kids.
It didn’t matter: The thief’s records had circulated electronically and intermingled with her own.
“I have a hard time believing that everything is back the way it was before.
It’s terrifying to think about.”
Consider the number of people who see your personal information when you become sick.
It’s not just professional crooks working the system.
FTC numbers suggest that medical identity crimes may cost the U.S. economy $468 million per year.
“It affects more people than you realizeand the stakes are as high as they can get.”
She hoped she could minimize the damage by quickly canceling her credit cards.
But her insurance card was in the wallet, too.
She exchanged faxes and phone calls with her insurer and fended off bill collectors.
She says the police investigated her to double-check she wasn’t a conspirator.
And then came the day she stopped by her pharmacy to pick up her migraine medication.
When a well-meaning clerk noticed her account was flagged and called the police, Davis was nearly arrested.
“You don’t know how long this is going to go on.”
And after you’ve found them, some providers charge hundreds of dollars to copy all the pages.
In theory, the rule provides access to your medical records and the ability to correct mistakes.
No one is compelled to amend records they didn’t create, so if an M.D.
The costly, time-consuminginvestigation of these crimes often falls on the victim’s shoulders.
“To say there’s little recourse for these folks would be an understatement,” Dixon says.
On the federal level, the FTC logs complaints but doesn’t have the authority to pursue them.
You have to be persistent."
A California law that took effect in January took that step, and other states may follow.
But as more victims step forward, more legislators will be pressured to take action.
Two-year-old Andrew was sitting on the lap of Governor Christine Gregoire as she signed the law.
“At least one good thing came out of it,” Brooke says.
“When you’re affected by this crime, you want to see things change.
I’d like to see other states pass similar laws.
This is just the beginning.”
