Medical ID theft: MIB

There are many people out there that claim to be Certified Identity theft Risk Management Specialists. Most that I have read their comments  a mixed up concept of how the MIB works  in pertaining to ID theft.

Statements that are false;

-”What happens when you seek medical help?  You go to a doctor or visit the ER and submit to treatment.  Let’s say you have an allergy to penicillin that is found out, or maybe you developed diabetes, or even worse, found out you were HIV positive.  That information gets taken down by the doctor, and ultimately submitted to the MIB.  No, not Men in Black, but Medical Information Bureau.  This is your “permanent record” of your health. ” (http://activerain.com/blogsview/23791/Medical-Identity-Theft-The)

-”Here’s his scenario. A bad guy steals your identity. He ends up in the hospital and pretends to be you. His medical history becomes a part of what Gardner calls your “MIB identity, or Medical Information Bureau identity.”  – John Gardner Pre-Paid Legal Services (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2005/09/01/8270350/index.htm)

-”When the Doctor diagnoses and treats this person he enters that information on a MIB. These MIB reports are where doctors find information on blood types, allergies to medications, and other very important information about you. If those records are changed, the results could be devastating. If your blood type was changed and you needed blood, you could die from that. Not only that, if someone gets medical treatment and doesn’t pay for it, you will be on the hook for the charges.” (http://www.squidoo.com/secureid) 

-”The information is also submitted to your (Medical Information Bureau) file. Anyone who has access to the MIB files, now has access to all of that information. Who has access to the Medical Information Bureau records? Anyone, at any hospital around the United States, who has even a small amount of clearance, has access to the Medical Information Bureau records.”  (http://itagsupport.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html)

True Facts about the MIB:

1. Your MIB file is not your permanent medical record/history. Your hospital and local doctor each have their own individual files and databases.
2. Doctors offices and Hospitals do not have the ability to reverse look up MIB information. For instance if you arrived without medical information they would use the MIB to find out more about you.
3. Only Member companies of the MIB report. These companies are not typical group employee companies that one would use to get treatment. MIB companies are life, additional health benifits that are mostly not used to gain medical services. Because of the fact that non MIB companies do not report. Most people will never have an MIB file and a theif who obtained and used your plan benifits would never have their information be reported to the MIB. The only way this would happen if the insurance was a member of the MIB and or the theif were to apply for a plan that is with an MIB company.

For more MIB information on ID theft go here http://www.mib.com/html/medical_id_theft.htm  While there are some people who might try to  argue that “this is a typical PR stunt to clear their name and assure the public that there really is not as big of a problem as there really is” and debunk the MIBs information, clearly those who try to argue do not know really how the MIB works.