Global smart ID will identify and track your online activities
The Kantara Initiative (previously the Liberty Alliance) has been working with the Obama Administration to establish this global ID management system, and will soon be rolling it out nationwide, as a way to minimize fraudulent use of electronic health records (EHRs). The system is nearly up and running (trials have already begun), meaning anyone who wants to access healthcare in the US will have to produce their smart-ID first. Most of the time you’ll be required to provide three-factor authentication, which means something you KNOW (the one and only password), something you HAVE (the smart card/phone), and something you ARE (your biometrics).
The grand plan for Global ID is to give each person on the planet a way to identify themselves online. One ID number for each person, to signify all that they are. This is the full personal profile containing anything relevant for identification purposes. It means all our private details being managed by a corporation, in the cloud. For more info. check out the Identity Assurance Framework.
If you want to sign up to the online identity ecosystem, you can already do so through Google or Yahoo!, or by registering with the Identity Ecosystem Steering Group (IDESG).
And if you don’t want anything to do with it, it’ll be tough, if not impossible, to get by in the future, because you’ll have to use your global ID to access all government services and healthcare services, to drive a car, and, once cash is gone, to pay for anything. Given the atmosphere of mistrust engendered by the system, and the constant fear of terrorism, over time it’s likely you’d need to ‘validate your identity’ to get insurance, to get a job, and to access buildings.
Most of the opposition to the control of identity is focused on ‘REAL ID’. It has unfortunately kept activists distracted from the NSTIC. Following the REAL ID Act of 2005, only thirteen states have fully complied, leaving some politicians up in arms that the Obama Administration seems to be doing little to help the implementation of REAL ID to combat terrorism. Perhaps they’re not aware that the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators were one of five pilot projects awarded a total of $9 million by the US government to kick off the NSTIC in September last year; the other winners were Daon, Criterion Systems, Resilient Networks and Internet2.
The Obama Administration has provided subsidies to cover the cost of converting paper records into an electronic format, which, “has fueled something of an explosion in companies developing and providing online personal health records (PHR) services and systems to patients and doctors alike.” (Source)
A number of incentives have also been provided to ensure compliance:
To encourage medical practices to implement EMR technology, the federal government has created an incentive program: Professionals able to meet specific federal requirements for EMR are eligible to receive up to $44,000 through the Medicare Electronic Health Records Incentive Program. Additionally, professionals providing service in an area deemed a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) may be eligible for extra incentives above and beyond the initial $44,000.
The incentives for institutions go even further with base payments for eligible institutions beginning at $2 million. … To ensure that institutions are making appropriate use of new electronic medical records technology (and the funding that goes along with it), several meaningful use requirements have been established. These include structured formats for areas such as medical billing, patient records and employee communication.(Source)
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/08/forget-real-id-global-smart-id-is-coming.html