When someone says Identity Theft, most often the first thing people think of is credit cards and bank statements.  There are television commercials about it, credit card companies bragging about their theft deterrence systems and zero liability programs, and notices are regularly provided to consumers providing tips on how to prevent it from happening. There’s even one company that will guarantee your identity will not be stolen. (Please read their fine print)
 
While financial identity theft can be devastating, it’s only part of the story.  The fastest area of identity theft is Medical Identity Theft (MIT). Just what is MIT?  It occurs when criminals obtain information such as a health insurance identification or Social Security number and use it to get health care, medical test, Medicaid benefits or to obtain reimbursement from insurers and others for false claims. That means your medical history and health care records can include someone else's information.

Many companies are under the false impression that the more benefits they offer their employees the happier they are. However, the increasing cost of healthcare, compensation, and training has companies re-evaluating their total benefit packages.

Hewitt Associates, a consulting firm in Lincolnshire, Illinois, has an online tool that companies can use to survey their employees. Results from recent surveys have shown that corporate America must continually prove to their stakeholders that the increasing cost of benefits is worth it. It has also shown that the difference between what companies spend on benefits and how employees value those benefits is growing larger every year. For example, many employees have responded to surveys indicating compensation is more important than health care benefits. Some are willing to trade compensation increases for restricted stock and/or bonuses.