BILL NUMBER: S2376B
SPONSOR: PERSAUD
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, the general business law and the state
technology law, in relation to adding medical and health insurance
information within the definitions of identity theft
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill intends to protect individuals from medical identity theft by
including medical and health insurance information within the definition
of identity theft.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 2 of section 190.77 of the
penal law to add new paragraphs (d) and (e), which define "medical
information" and "health insurance information" for purposes of sections
190.78, 190.79, 190.80, 190.80-a, 190.81, 190.82, and 190.83 of the
penal law.
Section 2 of the bill amends section 190.78 of the penal law to include
obtaining medical information and/or health insurance information under
false pretenses within identity theft in the third degree.
Section 3 of the bill amends section 190.79 of the penal law to include
obtaining medical information and/or health insurance information under
false pretenses within identity theft in the second degree.
Section 4 of the bill amends section 190.80 of the penal law to include
obtaining medical information and/or health insurance information under
false pretenses within identity theft in the first degree.
Section 5 of the bill amends subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subdi-
vision 1 of section 899-aa of the general business law to add new claus-
es (6) and (7), which includes "medical information" and "health insur-
ance information" within the scope of "private information" for the
purposes of the statute.
Section 6 of the bill amends subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdi-
vision 1 of section 208 of the state technology law to add new clauses
(6) and (7), which includes "medical information" and "health insurance
information" within the scope of "private information" for the purposes
of the statute.
Section 7 of the bill sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
According to the World Privacy Forum (WPF) in 2006, medical identity
theft accounts for approximately 3 percent of total ID theft, which is
reported to be the fastest-growing crime over the last seven years.
Criminals now pay upwards of $50 for a stolen medical ID, in comparison
to $1 for a social security number. Victims of medical identity theft
are left with few avenues for assistance as compared to regular ID
theft, partially due to lack of knowledge regarding this crime. Stolen
items typically include patient records, documents on insurance bene-
fits, and passwords to medical servers. Whether it is a physician iden-
tification number or patient identification information that is stolen,
medical identity theft is a serious problem, estimated to affect
250,000-500,000 individuals per year. Little assistance is provided for
victims under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA). Rather, the rigidness of HIPAA can create difficulties for
victims trying to fix files that have been altered by identity thieves.
For example, medications and surgeries fraudulently billed in the name
of the victim become permanent records that are hard to correct. In
addition to the hardship on patients, medical identity theft is a costly
burden on the healthcare system. According to the National Health Care
Anti-Fraud Association, of the $60 billion in health care fraud each
year, 1 percent," or $6 billion per year is attributed to medical iden-
tity fraud.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021/2022: S 209A Referred to Codes
2019/2020: S1088 Referred to Codes
2017/2018: S8593 Referred to Codes
2015: S 4043 Referred to Codes
2013/2014: S652 Referred to Codes
2011/2012: S5648 Referred to Codes
2009/2010: S122 Referred to Codes
2008: S7253 Referred to Codes
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

Statutes affected:
S2376: 190.78 penal law
S2376A: 190.78 penal law
S2376B: 190.78 penal law