Medical identity theft occurs when your medical insurance information becomes compromised.  The effects can be tremendously harmful.  In addition to the usual damage to your credit for unpaid bills, your medical records may become tainted with the faulty medical information of the identity stealing patient.  Your own health care can be jeopardized by receiving improper treatment based upon the medical information of the identity thief that appears on your record.  And as difficult as credit reports are to correct following an identity theft, correcting medical records can be next to impossible due to medical privacy laws.

TIP

Always review your medical insurance bills carefully to uncover any evidence of medical identity theft as quickly as possible.  Ask your physicians what there policy is for data protection as much of medical identity theft has been as the result of an inside job.