MARIETTA (Mar. 9, 2010) – A bill aimed to protect Georgia families from the quickly-spreading crime of medical identification theft overwhelmingly passed the Georgia state Senate Monday. State Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta) authored Senate Bill 334 which will bring felony charges against any person who willfully and fraudulently uses another person’s identity for obtaining medical care.
“Medical ID theft has quickly become the fastest form of identity theft in the nation, costing Georgia’s citizens alone hundreds of thousands of dollars every year,” said Hill. “It is time Georgia took a proactive step to protect our hard-working families from this illegal behavior which can devastate someone’s financial life by placing strong, enforceable penalties on criminals violating and invading their privacy.”
SB 334 makes obtaining medical care, prescription drugs, or financial gain with any form of stolen medical ID a felony. The protecting law will include ID of deceased persons, fictitious persons, and children under 18 over whom the accused has custodial authority. Under Hill’s legislation, this offense is punishable by imprisonment for two to ten years and/or a fine not to exceed $100,000. A second or subsequent offense is punishable by imprisonment for three to fifteen years and/or a fine not to exceed $250,000. Each violation will be a separate offense. The bill also includes a subsection specifically providing for a private cause of action for damages, attorney’s fees and reasonable litigation fees.
Hill noted that medical ID theft has become a very lucrative crime in Georgia and the U.S., mainly because current laws make tracking and stopping this illegal activity very difficult. He mentioned a Federal Trade Commission article which detailed the main obstacles patients are dealing with, such as changing incorrect information on their medical records due to ID theft. Victims of ID theft also face problems in challenging false medical claims stemming from illegal medical care, surgery, or prescription drug purchases obtained by stolen medical identities.
SB 334 passed the Senate 50 to 2 and will now head to the House of Representatives for consideration.
For more information on medical ID theft, please visit www.ftc.gov/idtheft.
Sen. Judson Hill serves as Chairman of Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee and the Republican Caucus Vice Chairman. He represents the 32nd Senate District which includes portions of Cobb and Fulton counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.0150 or by e-mail at judson.hill@senate.ga.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
March 8, 2010
For Information Contact:
Matt Colvin, Broadcast Specialist
matthew.colvin@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028