The cost of medical ID theft:

The Ponemon Institute surveyed 757 patient victims of medical ID theft to find out how the situations were resolved and the repercussions of the crimes. Often, physicians might be obliged to cover the cost of identity theft if it happened at their practice.

• Average time to resolve: 12.1 months
• Personal cost of resolving theft: $22,346 per victim
• Those who lost trust in their health care organization as a result: 51%
• Percentage who had medical records accessed: 20%
• Percentage with private insurance: 44%
• Percentage with Medicare: 21%
• Percentage not insured: 20%

Source: “Third Annual National Study On Medical Identity Theft,” Ponemon Institute, June

Where to go for help:

There are several agencies, both government and private, that investigate and provide resources on medical identity theft.

For more information:

• World Privacy Forum (worldprivacyforum.org/)
• Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov/idtheft)
• CMS Provider Victim Validation/Remediation Initiative (cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/Downloads/ProviderVictimPOCs.pdf)

To file a complaint:

• Federal Trade Commission: 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338)
• Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (633-4227)
• Office of the Inspector General: 1-800-HHS-TIPS (447-8477)