As I get older I seem to be spending more time and money at my various physicians’ offices, where I am regularly poked, prodded, and dosed with pills to either detect or prevent the health issues that plague the new millennium baby boomer. As one of the true joys of being a small businessman is the lack of affordable in-patient insurance policies, I generally pay as I go for these services. (As an aside, don’t be afraid to ask: If you don’t have coverage for a particular issue, say dental work, talk to the practitioner and offer him/her cash payment on-the-spot for a procedure. I’ve experienced discounts up to 40 percent!)
At my last visit to my general practitioner I paid my bill in a hurry with my credit card and rushed out the door to run an errand. It was only when I got home that I took a close look at the bill and realized that my “Account Number” with this doctor’s firm is the same as my Social Security number. So any person in their office, or one of the tens of thousands of people who have access to their network (a major Chicago university) has my name, Social Security number, and credit card information at their fingertips.