Medical ID Theft
Leaves Victim Hurting

Medical identity theft left one San Diego man with a $100,000 bill for the birth of a baby and another with a $40,000 kidney transplant he knew nothing about. "I told them it wasn't me," said Joe Ryan. "I took off my clothes and I have no scars whatsoever."Experts say medical identity theft is becoming more common because insurance premiums are so high and medical coverage is difficult to afford. Investigators traced Ryan's case to a career criminal named Joseph Henslik, who left police a voice mail saying, "All I can tell you is that I was dying and I had to get in the hospital, but I had no insurance.""Impostors can change your medical records -- so you can get different blood types..." said Pam Dixon, of the World Privacy Forum. "People can have surgery in your name, so when you go to the doctor they think your body belongs to someone else."Hensilk died in December of kidney and liver failure, leaving Ryan with a nearly fatal financial blow to his business. He has had difficulty getting the surgery expunged from his medical record. In California, changing a medical record is illegal -- even if it is wrong.It's estimated a quarter of a million Americans are victims of medical identify theft, NBC 7/39 reported. Southern California is considered a hot bed for thieves because of the high numbers of retirees.