New FTC rule requires physicians, hospitals to help deter identity theft

Ms. “Castro was finishing the paperwork to buy her first home when the bank called to warn her of a problem – nearly $10,000 in unpaid hospital bills on her credit report. The charges were for several ear, nose and throat procedures done at hospitals in her region. But they weren’t for her.”

She was an insured medical student, and the charges had been there for several years. A thief had used her personal data to get medical care.

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