Here in Ontario, Canada, all residents are required to carry a health card (aka OHIP) to get health coverage from the provincial government. I am not sure if such a health plan in Ontario is similar to NHS in the UK. The OHIP card is similar to an ID card; It has many of my vital information on it. The newer ones (which I have) even have a trillium hologram on it! (Did I show you?)

The OHIP office had some embarrassing incidents. Quite a while ago, a man managed to get an OHIP card for his dog. Generally, OHIP cards (even the newer ones) are not usually considered as a piece of ok identification outside of the health system. For example, driver’s licenses are used to verify receivers’ identity when picking up parcels from post offices.

The older OHIP card does not have a photo of the card holder or too many information on it. They are very prone to misuse and fraud. For example, A foreign friend/relative come to Ontario to have an expensive medical procedure done for free. The government decided to replace all OHIP cards with new ones that came with security features about 10 years ago. After a while, they found out it was too expensive to issue every Ontario resident a new health card. All my friends who live in Ontario since birth still have an old OHIP card.

That’s just my 2 cents. I have lived in places that require ID cards and not require one. Please bug me for more stories. My stories are mostly on practical viewpoint.