Medicare ID card very problematic

I am so proud of how the U.S. government has taken the leadership roll in protecting us from identity theft.

They are making all of the financial institutions and businesses take steps to make sure that we Americans do not become victims to this onerous crime.

Just this month, I signed up for Medicare and received my red, white, and blue, All-American Medicare ID card in the mail. On the back of the card was the warning: “Don’t leave home without it.” To make sure that the medical offices and hospitals could correctly identify me as a Medicare recipient, they boldly placed, on the front of the card, my name and my Social Security number for everyone to see.

I can only ask: “Are they stupid or what?”

If I wanted to steal someone’s identity, I would go to work at the front desk of a medical facility. What an unbelievable opportunity to earn a seven-figure income. Do you think that those clerks have had a national, criminal background check? I don’t think so.

You can clearly see that the federal, state, and local governments are making sure that everyone else, but them, is going to protect my identity.

Doubt me? Google “IRS employee identity theft” and you will find among the multitude of cases, the case of Monica Hernandez, the IRS employee, who filed $1.7 million in false tax returns using taxpayers’ information available to her in her job. Think of the others that haven’t been caught yet.

Hans Kasper

Bothell