Dr. Big Brother; February 1994; Scientific American Magazine; by Stix; 2 Page(s)

The Clinton administration's health plan should give every American access to medical care and protection from financial ruin. It would also eventually give the government some of the most intimate details of a person's private life. Without carefully crafted safeguards, the president's health security plan could become an instrument of Big Brother.

If the Clinton plan becomes law, a powerful seven-member National Health Board will sit down to work out the fine details for a medical information highway. This electronic health data network would over time enable regional health alliances, insurers and federal, state and local health officials and researchers to assemble and exchange information about each citizen covered (the plan will ultimately include everyone). Every American will also carry a plastic card with a patient identification number, which some privacy groups fear could turn into a de facto national identi fication card.