Medicare Alerts ???

[Soundy]

Has anyone gotten an alert from Medicare saying their ID has been compromised ? not stolen but compromised

My mom got a letter last Monday (4/12/10)  saying her ID had been compromised and someone else was using her
information to get treatment ... she is a breast cancer patient and in December was told her benefits were maxed out until April ...
she didn't think this was right and has been trying to get an earlier appointment for biopsy on lumps in her remaining breast
that the doctor after mammogram said looked to be cancerous ...

but still she was denied further treatment ... the earliest appointment she could get was May 17th ... but after receiving the
 letter Medicare informed her and her doctors and hospital she uses for treatment that they could proceed with biopsy before
the May appointment  and her appointment was moved up to April 22nd ... seems like Medicare is covering their tails ... repeatedly
they told her she had been to doctor so much she had exhausted her benefits ... one thing she learned is she supposedly was
treated in Kansas City for something the same day she was at the bone and joint clinic in Columbia Tennessee ... a little checking
other than looking at treatment codes and looking at locations could have solved this alot sooner and she would have been
getting much needed treatment ...

the letter was not clear if the leak was from a stolen computer , if it was statewide breach , Nation wide or local ... have not
found anything in the news coming back to this and she is thinking that ID was stolen from either the hospital or one of the many
doctors she sees ... she goes to a heart clinic for heart problems . the cancer clinic , orthopedic clinic for osteoporosis treatment ,
dermatologist for skin cancer and then her regular doctor for routine stuff...

just wondering if any Medicare patients got any alerts or if anyone had heard anything ... kind giving a heads up ... we are in Tennessee

[Jim Scott]

Soundy ~

I'm a Medicare patient and, thankfully, haven't received a notice that my ID has been 'compromised' (stolen).  I agree with your suspicion that your mom's ID was stolen locally, at one of the doctor/clinic offices.  I'm glad this was caught and your mom is able to receive her medical care in a timely manner.  However, this is troubling, so thanks for the heads-up.  I'll be on the lookout for any notifications from Medicare. 

Jim