Читать книгу THE LIFEBOAT STRATEGY - Mark Nestmann - Страница 24

Almost everyone needs to borrow money sometime. But doing so can result in a significant loss of control over crucial personal and financial information. Your credit records can also be used to determine your eligibility for a job,45 for insurance,46 or even whether you can board an airplane.47

A typical loan application requires that you disclose:

• Your name and residential address.

• The name and address of your employer and how much you’re paid.

• Information about your spouse and children.

• A detailed listing of all debts you owe.

To borrow a substantial sum of money, you may be required to submit a financial statement. This is a formal listing of all assets and liabilities.

This information may be disclosed under a variety of circumstances. The lender may share this data with affiliated companies. Your repayment record is carefully tracked not only by the lender, but also by organizations the lender belongs to, including credit bureaus. The lender may also make an official public record of the loan through a county recorder’s office.

If you default on the loan and are sued, the loan application can be introduced as evidence, making it a matter of public record that anyone can review. Further, in a lawsuit, the opposing attorney can subpoena loan applications to verify any statements of your net worth made in discovery.

Your Medical Records for Sale

Whatever, in connection with my professional practice or not in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret.

– A portion of the oath of Hippocrates

In Hippocrates’ day, in ancient Greece, medical technology was non-existent. An extract of willow bark might be given to relieve pain and swelling. The foxglove plant might be administered to relieve chest pain. Patients paid physicians a modest fee out from their own pockets, or bartered for medical services.

Similar fee arrangements were routine in the United States until very recently. My father, who practiced medicine for over 40 years, occasionally bartered with patients who couldn’t afford to pay his fee. One time a patient brought him a bushel of tomatoes. Another patient gave him several sacks of candy, which I eager consumed.

In America’s modern medical system, few individuals pay for treatment out of their own savings. And both the government and insurance companies discourage the informal barter arrangements physicians used for thousands of years. Violations today may be considered tax evasion.

Insurance billing for medical services is a fact of life. Insurers demand detailed information from physicians, including mental health counselors and doctors, to justify continued treatment. According to Paul Appelbaum, vice president of the American Psychiatric Association:

Managed care companies are requesting much more information than they need to make coverage decisions, including “comments about suicide attempts, extramarital affairs, job-related problems, and drug or alcohol abuse.”48

Your medical records may also be released to the federal government, data-processing companies, and credit bureaus, in many cases without your consent.49