Of course, it is unlikely that this system would be limited to only tracking coronavirus patients. The government may eventually keep track of every hospital admission — or even all visits to doctors' offices — in the United States. This system could, and likely would, be used to violate privacy and harass and intimidate those challenging existing government policies. Anyone who doubts this should ask themselves what J. Edgar Hoover or Lois Lerner would have done with access to every American's medical history. No wonder some have described this as a healthcare PATRIOT Act.

Despite official denial that the White House is considering a new tracking program, the coronavirus panic may be used to justify giving the federal government access to our medical records.

Politicians, bureaucrats, and special interests have for years been trying to create a database of all Americans' medical records that could be accessed by federal bureaucrats and government-favored special interests. The 2008 "stimulus" bill included federal funding to develop a system to store healthcare records electronically. This was a step toward creating a federally controlled database of all Americans' healthcare records.