Who's Reading Your Medical Records?

January 5, 1999

Did you know that your health history can be investigated by insurance companies, government agencies, and health care personnel? According to the credit-monitoring company Privacy Guard:

• Every time you sign the standard waiver on an insurance claim form, you're giving permission for you medical history to be shared.
• Your record may be stored by the Medical Information Bureau (MIB), a clearinghouse which keeps data on millions of Americans.
• Insurance companies often check the bureau's files before setting health and life insurance rates.
• In some cases, people have been turned down for coverage because of records they themselves have never seen, and which may not even be accurate.

You can arrange to find out if MIB has a report on you, what it says and change it if it is wrong. Contact the Medical Information Bureau at www.mib.com; call (871) 329-4500 ext. 501; or write MIB, write P.O. Box 105, Essex Station, Boston, MA 02112.

This article was originally featured in the November/December 1998 issue of Health Freedom Watch.