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The Digital Wallet in Nebraska

Integrating digital identity credentials and the digital wallet ID in Nebraska.

Updated August 1, 2023

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Will the goals set by the ID2020 Alliance be implemented in Nebraska? If so, how close are we to incorporating vaccination status, ESG scores, and other social credit scores, like those implemented in China, such as traffic tickets, unpaid taxes, or legal disputes, into our digital wallets? Are there other sources, besides those below, that would indicate a timeline?

Summaries

Nebraska Health Information Technology (HIT) Board

Link to current HIT Board meeting information and communications

The Nebraska Health Information Technology Board is contained within the Population Health Information Act, and was signed into law May 2021 requiring collection and reporting of health data from most health care facilities through a contract with CyncHealth, a member of the CARIN Alliance. CARIN is a multi-sector alliance developing digital identity credentials. In coordination with the Vaccine Credentials Initiative, CARIN, the World Health Organization, and the other global stakeholders, including the World Economic Forum, Microsoft, Salesforce, and MITRE are leading the development and implementation of the open source SMART Health Card Framework, part of the United Nations 2016 ID2020 initiative in response to United Nations Sustainability Goal 16.9. In December 2020 the Alliance announced a “Digital Identity and Federation White Paper,” to provide information on their work to develop digital identity credentials in order to provide individuals access to their personal health information via an application of their choice. This ability for choice, they note, was accelerated by passage of The 21st Century Cures Act, the ONC Cures Act Final Rule, and the CMS Interoperatilbity and Patient Access rule.

The Population Health Information Act, Section 71-2454 and 71-2455, requires a public-private exchange (CyncHealth) to establish a system of prescription drug monitoring. Patients are prohibited from opting out of the prescription drug monitoring system per Section 71-2454 2(a). A patient may opt out of the statewide health information exchange per Section 71-2454 2(e). A link to the “Opting In or Out” brochure is available at CyncHealth here, and the opt out form is here. CyncHealth FAQs.

Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles REAL ID and Voter ID

Nebraska DMV contracts with global identity firm IDEMIA to design and produce new security features for the Nebraska REAL ID compliant driver’s license or state ID. State contract search for Idemia:

  • 1/1/2017 $19.3M
  • 4/15/19 $45.9M
  • 12/1/22 $2.4M

Muckrock public records request to the Nebraska DMV regarding the IDEMIA contract for mobile digital ID and Apple Wallet

“DMVs are the best positioned government entity to lead the transformation of identity from the physical to the digital identity, particularly since the DMV is the one place where most Americans go through a robust identity vetting process.”

“IDEMIA is coining a new term for mDLs to now call them ‘mobile identity’ or mID. mID is a biometrically authenticated identity bound to a verified devise and digitally transmitted through a standards-based protocol”

Todd Feathers request to the Nebraska DMV IDEMIA Documents and Emails

Timeline

The timeline detail will be updated as time permits.

Access some news article links by logging into Lincoln City Libraries Online Resources

  • CARIN, in coordination with the Vaccine Credentials Initiative, the World Health Organization, and other global stakeholders, including the World Economic Forum, are leading the development and implementation of the open source SMART Health Card Framework, part of the United Nations 2016 initiative . The CARIN Alliance describes itself as “a non-partisan, multi-sector alliance focused on providing digital health information to consumers where, when, and how they want to achieve their goals.” In December 2020 the Alliance announced a “Digital Identity and Federation White Paper,” to provide information on their work to develop digital identity credentials in order to provide individuals access to their personal health information via an application of their choice. This ability for choice, they note, was accelerated by passage of The 21st Century Cures Act, the ONC Cures Act Final Rule, and the CMS Interoperatilbity and Patient Access rule.
  • The CARIN Alliance is a member, with Microsoft, Salesforce, MITRE, and others, of the Vaccine Credentials Initiative (VCI), a voluntary coalition of public and private organizations “leading the development and implementation of the open-source SMART Health Card Framework and specifications.” On January 14, 2021, Business Wire reported the creation of the VCI noting that the initiative is, “committed to empowering individuals with digital access to their vaccination records based on open, interoperable standards… using the open, interoperable SMART Health Cards specifications.” According to the article, the vision of VCI is to “empower individuals to obtain an encrypted digital copy of their immunization credentials to store in a digital wallet of their choice.” Using W3C verifiable credentials, Business Wire quotes Paul Meyer, CEO of The Commons Project Foundation, “The goal of the Vaccination Credential Initiative is to empower individuals with digital access to their vaccination records so they can use tools like CommonPass to safely return to travel, work, school, and life, while protecting their data privacy.” Meyer continues, “Open standards and interoperability are at the heart of VCI’s efforts and we look forward to supporting the World Health Organization and other global stakeholders in implementing and scaling open global standards for health data interoperability.” “As the world begins to recover from the pandemic, having electronic access to vaccination, testing, and other medical records will be vital to resuming travel and more,” said Mike Sicilia, executive vice president of Oracle’s Global Business Units. “This process needs to be as easy as online banking. We are committed to working collectively with the technology and medical communities, as well as global governments, to ensure people will have secure access to this information where and when they need it.”