Aren't we protected against doctors demanding SSN's? They took my ins. card, State D.L. & still demanded SS#!

Question

Aren't we protected against doctors demanding SSN's? They took my ins. card, State D.L. & still demanded SS#!

Answer 1

You do not have to provide your Social Security number. You are not legally required to provide your SSN to private businesses — including private health care providers and insurers — unless you are involved in a transaction in which the Internal Revenue Service requires notification. (MediCal and Medicare are government health plans and can require a Social Security number.)

The Patriot Act requires financial institutions to verify customers' identities, which can involve the SSN.

There is no law, however, that prevents businesses from requesting your SSN, and there are few restrictions on what businesses can do with it. But even though you are not legally required to disclose your SSN, the business does not have to provide you with service if you refuse to release it. So in a sense, you are strong-armed into giving your SSN. This is often the case when applying for insurance and opening utility accounts.

If a business insists on knowing your SSN when you do not see a reason for it you should ask to speak to a manager who may be authorized to make an exception or who may know whether company policy requires it. If the company will not allow you to use an alternate number such as your driver’s license number, you may want to take your business elsewhere.

Answer 2

If you want to use your insurance, you'll have to provide it.

Answer 3

your ssn along with a current and valid drivers license is actually positive identification, and is required at most medical organizations........ but remember that you are protected by confidentiality laws when it comes to medical issues....... so identity theft is not likely in a professional field such as a doctors office.......

Answer 4

NO...... You should not give it.

It is your legal right to refuse SSN to anyone and everyone except your bank, employer (after offering you a firm offer of employment) and your income-tax related correspondence with the government.

If you refuse, they CANNOT refuse service based on that. This is also the law.

No one, but no one, has the right to ask. You have every right to refuse. If they balk, report them. They probably do not know that they should not ask.

Answer 5

You do not have to give it to them.  

And in turn, if you don't, they don't have to treat you.

Doctors usually end up with a lot of patients that don't pay their copays and deductibles, and the SS# is what allows them to turn the account over to a collection agency.

Answer 6

You don't HAVE to give it, but there are reasons for asking for it. 1. Some larger insurance plans (I know for a fact that Aetna did this) give the same ID number to two separate people - having your SSN as a secondary form of ID on the claim ensures they're processed right. 2. If you end up owing the doctor money and don't pay up, they use your SSN to send you to collections and put your credit in the toilet.

SO, if you refuse to give your SSN, you'd better not complain if your claims aren't paid by your insurance company, and you'd always better pay your bill.

The other reality is - medical fraud (where someone uses someone else's insurance to get care) is an up and coming problem. I'd protect myself anyway I can.

Answer 7

You don't "have" to give it to them.  As long as you're willing to take the risk of them declining you as a patient.

Uncollectible accounts are a big problem, and the SSN protects your doctor's office.  They can use it to file collections against you and get the info on your credit report.

Answer 8

you did not have to give it and you can report them

Answer 9

If you have a medical insurance card - it's already embedded into the code that is your ID number on the card.  The doctors office doesn't need it as long as they are a provider for your medical insurance company, and they shouldn't be requesting it.

They should have also given you a HIPAA form to sign stating how they would be protecting your medical information.