Are folks aware of the "Medication history" database that insurers can access?

[SoapBox]

This past Monday, I was absolutely shocked, reading an article in the Los Angeles Times, Health section…that mentioned that there is a nationwide “Medication history” database, that insurers can get copies of…if you apply for insurance, they can check to see what you have taken. I WAS SHOCKED and have never heard of this.

Story link:

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-pre-existing-conditions-20100906,0,3216057,full.story

And the part about the medications is in the last couple of paragraphs.

I simply never knew…anyone else not aware of this?

FYI

[Taverner]

1. Yes - and not just that, the DEA uses it

To track down people taking pills without permission...that's why it was started

[superduperfarleft]

2. Yep, it's a service operated by MIB.

http://www.mib.com/html/about_mib_group.html

Insurers join MIB, and can then use the database to "prevent fraud." If you've ever been declined for insurance due to medical conditions, that's in there too.

You can request your file here: http://www.mib.com/html/request_your_record.html

[FSogol]

3. MIB = Men in Black. Really? Why not name it TPTB

"The Powers that Be" :scared:

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

13. From their website...

"We will not have a consumer file (consumer report information) on you if you have not applied for individually underwritten life, health, or disability income insurance during the preceding seven year period."

So they don't have a file on me because I've been part of a group plan since I graduated from college.

But that's NOT very comforting. Your medical records should be available ONLY to you and to an approved healthcare provider.

[Lisa0825]

4. I only found out about it when I bought life insurance and read the fine print...

It basically asked me to list all conditions I have been treated for, and what medications I had been on, and then it said "This can be verified through the Medication database, and answering falsely can lead to termination of the policy." Since I had taken Celexa before, they bumped up my rate. :eyes:

[Kat45]

11. I have no idea what meds I've been prescribed through the years

There are short-term meds during illnesses, for example, that are never remembered. An antibiotic? Sure. Which one? I have no idea. Some prescriptions that were given, but never taken. The way my memory is these days, I don't even remember all the different things that have gone on health-wise through the years. I've been thinking of asking for a copy of my medical records just so I know what my history is. I have no idea how difficult it might be to get a copy of the record or how much it would cost. And I imagine the record would only be from my one primary care doctor. Nothing from my childhood doctors; nothing from specialists. I'm also a bit scared to have the records because I wouldn't want them to fall into the wrong hands, not like they can't anyway.

[Lisa0825]

14. I think they were fishing for info on things that could be chronic or recurring....

not just colds. Since I was on antidepressants at one time, then in their view, I am never cured and am at a higher risk of self destructive behaviors, etc.

[seafan]

5. The health insurance reforms are just so impressive.

Amazing what you run across buried in stories. (Hat tip to DUer SoapBox.)

.....

Think generic

Using generic or over-the-counter medications is one way to make a preexisting condition look less threatening and expensive and is something consumers should always discuss with their doctors. And those prescriptions you fill "just in case" but never use? They can come back to haunt you. Insurance companies often check prescription history as a part of the underwriting process.

Insurance carriers will know what drugs are prescribed to you: They subscribe to a service that lets them see an individual's five-year history of prescriptions filled. From that, a pharmacy risk score is produced; It plays a significant role in the decision-making process." It doesn't matter if you took the drugs or not; the money was spent," Mostafaie explains. But it's still worth asking your doctor to reflect in your chart that you didn't take the pills or, if you took something, you later stopped and now feel better.

Under federal law, consumers are entitled to a free annual copy of their prescription file. For instructions on how to request a copy, contact the insurance consumer reporting agency, MIB Group, at http://www.mib.com/html/request_your_record.html.

Los Angeles resident Daniel MacDonald, 37, learned the lesson of medication history the hard way. Working with a friend in L.A. to start a studio recording business, he sought insurance for himself and his daughter. Several years back, he'd been prescribed anti-anxiety medication to cope with the loss of a family member. He no longer takes the medication — but that didn't matter to underwriters.

"The prescription put a black mark on my history and increased the premium," he says. After a 20-minute underwriting interview, MacDonald was extended coverage but is paying a higher premium because of his past medication use.

Big Insurance middlemen must be removed from profiting off of our health care.



But politicians in DC are handsomely paid not to notice.

[SoapBox]

6. Wow! :-)

I got a Hat Tip! Thanks! :-)

[seafan]

7. Keep digging up the truth, SoapBox.

Spread it around!

[Recursion]

8. Only if you're in the individual market, which will die before too long

HCR will, eventually, kill the individual insurance market (that was half of its point, the other half was saving Medicare money). Only people with individually underwritten insurance are in the MIB database.

[MedicalAdmin]

20. Is recursion a german word meaning Good German?

Individual insurance will not "disappear." Got any more libertarian pixie dust, invisible hand will fix everything, fairy tales to tell?

And the MIB database is only one database that the insurance companies have access. And the companies share ALL info on you with each other.

The fact that you somehow believe that the insurance companies are going to somehow "play nice" is seriously naive.

[Recursion]

21. I said they would "disappear", not "play nice"

Individual policies will not be able to exceed 9.5% of the insured's income. They can't make their nut with that cap, so they will go away, and people will be able to enroll in the state-accountable non-profit insurance program all states will be required to set up.

And the companies share ALL info on you with each other.

Only if they think they can avoid HIPAA lawsuits and jail time. MIB was specially set aside for only underwriters of individual policies.

(And, by the way, it's from the Latin recursio, "turn again".)

[Gormy Cuss]

9. MIB is only one of several databases used by insurers yet generally unknown to consumers.

There are ones for example that keep track of property loss claims tied to each address and that info has been used to deny coverage or inflate premiums of subsequent homeowners.

Anytime I run into someone who says they have nothing to hide I want to scream because the issue isn't about one's bad behavior but about gross misuse of data. We need better privacy laws in this country.

[Control-Z]

12. Who reports to the

database? The prescribing doctor? The pharmacy? The insurance company? Are just prescriptions covered by insurance being reported? Or any prescription filled? Would paying out of pocket (rather than through insurance) for, lets say, a psychotropic drug, protect the insured from future biases/rate increases?

Wow. I had no idea there were drug-history databases. Of course, basic medical record keeping (something that would actually benefit patients) is non-existent, as far as I know.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. IIRC, it's insurance companies sharing data.

So if Anthem Blue Cross paid for your psychotropic drugs and you now put in an application to United Healthcare for an individual policy they may use that information in assessing whether they will insure you and at what price.

[MedicalAdmin]

17. Its worse than you think. A few details for you.

The drug data base was started to track drug abuse and to keep drug interaction mistakes from happening. Of course this doesn't track drugs that are diverted by the drug companies before they leave the dock, but rather focus on those in chronic pain. It is a good idea for to track the very few docs who are either addicted or dealing.

As a clinic manager I should tell you that electronic medical record WILL be used to deny treatment, even retroactively, charge you much higher premium and worse. If you think law enforcement or insurance companies screw you now, then just wait when they get access to your electronic medical records.

[Hannah Bell]

10. The patient has great difficulty getting copies of medical records, hospital chart notes, etc.

But corporations don't have such difficulty.

It's completely fascist; the system is designed to let corps & institutions screw the "client".

That's one reason I'd recommend going to a counselor off-insurance, off the record.

[MedicalAdmin]

18. Pay cash for any genetic tests and require your doc to NOT chart it

Genetic tests can be used to deny future care or jack premiums through the roof .

[SlipperySlope]

16. Pharmaceutical sales people use it also.

They can use it to tell which Doctors are prescribing which drugs. Helps them know who to reward and who to make more sales calls on.

[MedicalAdmin]

19. And yet the database is only accessible for medical or legal reasons

So who, do you think, give illegal access to that database to salemen?

Hmmmmm?


I am all in favor of a database for medical reasons, but I think anyone who violate that confidential info should spend time in jail on a mandatory minimum felony sentence of at least 3 years. It should also allow for loss of license and preclude EVER working in their field again be they insurance, law enforcement, medical, politician, etc.

[SlipperySlope]

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