BlueCaid notice of privacy practices
Effective Oct. 1, 2007
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW PERSONAL AND MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
Understanding the type of information we have
We get personal and medical information about you when you enroll in a health plan. It includes your date of birth, sex, identification number and other personal information. We also get bills, reports from your doctor, and other data about your medical care.
Our privacy commitment to you
We care about your privacy. The information we collect about you is private. We are required to give you a notice of our privacy practices. Only people who have both the need and the legal right may see your personal and medical information. Unless you give us permission in writing, we will only disclose your personal and medical information for purposes of treatment, payment, business operations (when we are required by law to do so) or for the other reasons listed below.
- Treatment. We may use or disclose personal or medical information about you to coordinate your health care. For example, we may notify your doctor about care you get in an emergency room.
- Payment. We may use and disclose personal or medical information so the care you get can be properly billed and paid for. For example, we may ask an emergency room for details before we pay the bill for your care.
- Business operations. We may need to use and disclose personal or medical information for our business operations. For example, we may use information to review the quality of care you get.
- Exceptions. For certain kinds of records, your permission may be needed even for release for treatment, payment and business operations.
- As required by law and for other government functions, we will release information when we are required by law to do so. Examples of such releases are:
- For law enforcement or national security purposes
- Subpoenas or other court orders
- Disclosures to the friend of the court
- Communicable disease reporting
- Disaster relief
- Review of our activities by government agencies
- To avert a serious threat to health or safety or in other kinds of emergencies
- Public health and safety. We may use or disclose information about you as necessary to prevent or reduce a serious threat to the health or safety of a person or the public. For example, we or our providers may report information to immunization or disease registries.
- For research. We may use or disclose personal or medical information about you to perform research, for example, to review disease management or education programs to see how well they work. We will either ask for your permission or get permission from an Institutional Review Board or Privacy Board before using or disclosing your information for research.
- Family and friends. We may disclose your information to family members, friends or others you identify to the extent it is relevant to their involvement with your care or payment for your care, or to let them know about where you are and your condition.
- With your permission. If you give us permission in writing, we may use and disclose your personal information. If you give us permission, you have the right to change your mind and take back your permission. This must be in writing, too. We cannot take back any uses or disclosures already made with your permission. Our use and disclosure of your personal or medical information must comply with federal privacy regulations and applicable Michigan law. Michigan law provides different protections to your personal health information. For example, Michigan law more strongly protects sensitive information like information about HIV/AIDS and mental health.
Your privacy rights
You have the following rights regarding the health information that we have about you. Your requests must be made in writing to:
BlueCaid Customer Service
2311 Green Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2966
- Your right to inspect and copy. In most cases, you have the right to look at or get copies of certain types of your records. You may be charged a fee for the cost of copying your records.
- Your right to amend. You may ask us to change your records if you feel that there is a mistake. We can deny your request for certain reasons, but we must give you a written reason for our denial.
- Your right to a list of disclosures. You have the right to ask for a list of certain disclosures made after Oct. 1, 2007. This list will not include the times that information was disclosed for treatment, payment or health care operations. The list will not include information provided directly to you or your family, or information that was sent with your permission. It will not include information released without your name or other data that would identify you.
- Your right to request restrictions on our use or disclosure of information. You have the right to ask for limits on how your information is used or disclosed. We are not required to agree to such requests.
- Your right to request confidential communications. You have the right to ask that we share information with you in a certain way or in a certain place. For example, you may ask us to send information to your work address instead of your home address. We will do our best to accommodate your request.
Changes to this notice
We reserve the right to revise this notice. A revised notice will be effective for personal and medical information we already have about you, as well as any information we may receive in the future. We are required by law to comply with whatever notice is currently in effect. We will publish any changes to our notice on our Web site, MiBCN.com. If the changes to the notice are material, we will mail you a new notice before it takes effect.
How to use your rights under this notice
If you want to use your rights under this notice, you may call or write us. If you need help preparing your request, we will help you.
Complaints and communications to us. If you want to exercise your rights under this notice or if you wish to communicate with us about privacy issues or wish to file a complaint, you can call or write us at:
BlueCaid Customer Service
2311 Green Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2966
You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
Complaints to the federal government. If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to file a complaint with the federal government. You may contact:
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
233 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 240
Chicago, IL 60601Phone: 312-886-2359
FAX: 312-886-1807
TTY: 312-353-5693
You will not be penalized for filing a complaint with the federal government.
Copies of this notice
You have the right to receive an additional copy of this notice at any time. Please call BlueCaid Customer Service.
page modified 02/12/2009