AFFIRMATIVE — MEDICAL IDENTIFIERS 236

STATUS QUO IS ISSUING MEDICAL IDENTIFIERS FOR ALL

CONGRESS HAS MANDATED A SYSTEM OF MEDICAL IDENTIFIERS WHICH THREATEN PRIVACY

Leah Curtin and Roy Simpson; Health Management Technology, August, 1999; Pg. 32 TITLE: Privacy in the Information Age? // acs-VT2001

Linda Carroll has written: "With the advent of computerized medical records and the growth of managed care, some very intimate information is now at the fingertips of almost any computer-savvy person . . . And in a move that might make medical information even more vulnerable to prying eyes, Congress last year passed a provision mandating the creation of a system of patient identifiers that would make it easier to gather health information on every American."

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WANTS TO PROTECT PRIVACY BY GIVING EACH CITIZEN A  UNIQUE HEALTH IDENTIFIER 

Kelly Patricia O'Meara; Insight on the News, February 14, 2000, Pg. 18, TITLE: Public Comment on Medical Records // acs-EE2001

The Clinton administration publicly said the recommendations for national health-information "privacy" legislation "would guarantee patients new rights and protections against the misuse or disclosure of their health records." Audrey Mullen, government-affairs counsel for Advocacy Inc., a Washington-based organization specializing in health and regulatory issues, tells Insight "the devil is in the details." The details Mullen is speaking about are the alleged "protections," including the "unique health identifier," which is so controversial that regulations to assign every American a number have yet to be proposed.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WANTS TO ISSUE EVERYONE A UNIQUE HEALTH IDENTIFIER TO KEEP TRACK OF THEM

Kelly Patricia O'Meara; Insight on the News, February 14, 2000, Pg. 18, TITLE: Public Comment on Medical Records // acs-EE2001

The HHS soon will propose some form of identification that will be provided to each American, following them from cradle to grave and tracking their medical histories. Thanks to Rep. Paul, the Social Security number, which many already see as a national identification scheme, has been taken out of the mix. Insiders say this has left five options, including such futuristic methods as biometric identifiers, directory service, personal immutable properties and public-key/private-key cryptography.