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I lost my wallet on campus sometime in October, but got it back about a week later. It had everything in it, my SS, credit cards and id. I moved back home in November and until recently I hadn't checked my mailbox in Columbia. Turns out when I did I found tons of medical bills addressed to me with my name, SSN and other information on it. The bills are almost 2k in total and I NEVER had anything done at the hospital. They are from Palmetto Health saying that I received emergency care treatment for psychological issues or something along those lines, as well as another bill from EMS for the transportation. I have never been to an emergency room for anything EVER, and I have never been to Palmetto Health either.
So my thinking is, could somebody have stolen my information from my wallet and falsely identified themselves as me when they went into the ER?
How could I prove this? They didn't give my insurance information since they didn't have it, and the hospital says that they did not have any ID present on them.
I'm not sure how this works but if a patient has no ID on them can they give them any care? It was for suicidal thoughts I think. But since they gave all the right information- my name, SSN, phone, address- I guess they believed it was me.
Does the hospital have any other proof of who it was, other than the information the patient gave them?
Even if I wanted to report this to my insurance company, TriCare, it's too late since you have to report all emergency care instances 72 hours after they happen or before. It has definitely been much longer, so I don't think they would take it.
Any advice on what I could possibly do??
Last edited by cherrypies; 02-26-2015 at 08:18 PM..
Anything is possible. I'd contact the billing agency and file a police report. Also get a copy of your credit report - they may have gotten credit in your name, too.
You should file a police report so that it is documented proof of having had your wallet/ID stolen. The details of how you got your wallet back "a week later" versus just misplacing it -- that could be a challenge for insurance companies to believe that another person is involved as opposed to you just wanting out of your responsibility. One would consider there are picture IDs, so the thief would have to be same gender, age, etc. to pull off using your creds to get medical care.
I lost my wallet on campus sometime in October, but got it back about a week later. It had everything in it, my SS, credit cards and id. I moved back home in November and until recently I hadn't checked my mailbox in Columbia. Turns out when I did I found tons of medical bills addressed to me with my name, SSN and other information on it. The bills are almost 2k in total and I NEVER had anything done at the hospital. They are from Palmetto Health saying that I received emergency care treatment for psychological issues or something along those lines, as well as another bill from EMS for the transportation. I have never been to an emergency room for anything EVER, and I have never been to Palmetto Health either.
So my thinking is, could somebody have stolen my information from my wallet and falsely identified themselves as me when they went into the ER?
How could I prove this? They didn't give my insurance information since they didn't have it, and the hospital says that they did not have any ID present on them.
I'm not sure how this works but if a patient has no ID on them can they give them any care? It was for suicidal thoughts I think. But since they gave all the right information- my name, SSN, phone, address- I guess they believed it was me.
Does the hospital have any other proof of who it was, other than the information the patient gave them?
Even if I wanted to report this to my insurance company, TriCare, it's too late since you have to report all emergency care instances 72 hours after they happen or before. It has definitely been much longer, so I don't think they would take it.
Any advice on what I could possibly do??
Did you make a police report about your lost wallet?
Did you cancel credit cards if you have any?
Did you cancel debit cards with your bank?
Do you have any proof at all that you were not the one who went to the hospital?
Do you have any proff at all that you actually lost your wallet and did not just misplace it?
The above questions are things the insurance company and bill collectors will be asking.
Oh, absolutely.
This happens all the time.
Sometimes on purpose (like people sharing SS# with family members cuz they are here illegally).
Sometimes it's like ID theft.
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