Medical identity theft bonks the U.S. economy to the tune of over $41 billion and costs victims over $20,000 on average, according to a provocative new study by the Ponemon Institute.
If you’ve been charged with Medicare fraud or identity theft in Southern California, you might find it educational to learn about what happens to victims of medical identity theft. Perhaps, for instance, you aided and abetted someone – that is, lent your healthcare information to a family member or sick friend – and now you face criminal charges. The study out of Michigan looked at 757 cases of medical identity theft. Here are some of the stats:
• 41% of victims lost their coverage and had to find new healthcare;
• Resolving a case of medical identity theft took over a year on average – 12.1 months, to be precise;
• Nearly a third of the respondents said that they had allowed family members to utilize their info to get care;
• 6% of victims had to pay over $100,000 to complete their cases;
• The average cost was $22,346 – up nearly $2,000 from a Ponemon Institute study in 2011.
If convicted of Southern California medical identity theft, you can face a raft of punishments, including jail time, steep fines and fees, major legal costs, loss of coverage, and worse. While some people who commit identity theft crimes do so maliciously; others do it to help.
If you’re attending to a sick relative who has been denied coverage — and she can’t access medication she needs to stave off of pain, for instance — it’s easy to understand why you might be tempted to lend your healthcare information to her, so she can get treatment.
Navigating your Los Angeles criminal defense journey can be tricky, surprising, and confusing. The experienced and highly esteemed team at the Kraut Criminal & DUI Lawyers can help you surface and execute a responsible, smart, and strategic plan to resolve your charges and help you generally get your life together in the wake of all that’s happened to you recently.