Medical ID Theft

Medical ID theft on the rise, say experts.
Bloomberg News (3/23, Collins) reports, "There were more than 275,000 cases in the US last year of medical information theft, twice the number in 2008, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a Pleasanton, California-based market research firm. The average fraud cost $12,100, Javelin said." The rise is attributed to the growing use of electronic medical records, though "insurers are improving technology to spot false claims, said Tom McGraw, a senior vice president at Ingenix," a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary. The government is also "considering new regulations to enhance privacy and security of health information, said David Blumenthal," HHS' national coordinator for Health Information Technology.