Medical information bureau also known as the MIB Group, Inc. is
essentially a nonprofit credit rating agency that serves the North
American insurance industry. It is located in Essex, MA and is one of
the repositories of health records in the world. The MIB Group has
membership of estimated 750 U.S. and Canadian Insurance Companies.
The
Medical Information Bureau encloses a central database of medical
information, which is used by different insurance companies. There are
about 15 million Americans and Canadians recorded in the files of MIB’s
computers. The insurance firms use the services of MIB primarily to
obtain information about individual health insurance policy applicants
and life insurance.
Medical information bureau operates as
an informational exchange bureau on the behalf of its members. After
you apply for health insurance, disability insurance, or life
insurance, your insurance company would report it to the MIB. This is a
part of your insurance application authorized by you.
In
case you apply for benefits to another member company for health,
disability insurance, life or a claim it would be submitted to such a
company. Medical Information Bureau would take the responsibility to
provide that company with any information in its file that is
requested. Receiving your request MIB would arrange for disclosure of
any information it may have in your file. In case, you have doubts over
the accuracy of the information in that file, you can contact MIB and
ask for correction in accordance with the procedures.
While
applying for life or health insurance you would be asked to provide
information about your health. In some cases, you would be required to
a certificate of being examined by a doctor and to have your urine and
blood tested. If you have medical conditions which the insurance
companies might consider significant, this would be reported to the
MIB.
However, they do not have the similar copies as you
would have seen with the doctor. They codify individuals according to
certain health conditions and lifestyle choices. The Medical
Information Bureau has 230 codes. It uses individuals’ codes to
indicate high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, or depression. There
are also codes to indicate participation in high-risk sports like
skydiving or if an individual smokes cigarettes. Apart from medical
conditions, the data collected by Medical Information Bureau includes
driving records, and criminal activity. Moreover, MIB conducts the
Record Search and Disclosure at for each request at minimal charges.
Medical
Information Bureau is runs on the dogma that every consumer should be
eligible to know the contents of his or her record maintained by the
organization. It also allows the right to check and correct any
incomplete or inaccurate information in the record. This is a great
advantage for the consumer as well as MIB for assuring that the
recorded information with the organization is as true as possible.