Last update: October 22, 2015
BY REGISTERING FOR THIS WEBSI TE AND USING ANY OF THE TOOLS OR ASSESSMENTS OFFERED THROUGH PREMERA.COM AND ITS PARTNER WEBSITES, YOU ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
What is personal information?
Personal information includes your demographic information (including name, email address, date of birth, gender, member identification number and/or mailing address and ZIP Code) and your medical information, including medical history and information contained on claims and health assessments.
How is personal information collected by Premera.com and its partner websites?
Premera.com may collect your personal information. See a brief description of each data source and the type of information collected.
Information provided by you
Entering the website. Premera's server will specifically recognize the domain name and address of all site users. Our website transfers a text file to your computer's hard drive (known as a "cookie") for record-keeping purposes. The cookie assigns a unique, random number to your computer. It does not contain information that personally identifies you. We record data on the categories or sections of our website that you have visited along with the cookie information.
Registering for the website. The first time you enter the Premera website, you will be recognized as either (i) a valid Premera member (ii) as a visitor, and offered an opportunity to register for the website. You will be asked to create a personal login identifier and password with your first use. If you are a member, Premera will send your name, email address, date of birth, gender, member identification number and/or mailing address and ZIP Code to partner sites. An account will be created for you and will be accessible to you each time you login. Each time you enter the Premera site (or its partner sites), you will be asked to login with that identifier and password. Access to your information by another user is strictly limited in accordance with applicable state and federal law, as well as Premera' Notice of Privacy Practices.
Information provided by your health plan
Premera will directly, or indirectly through its business associates, provide personal information to its partners for healthcare operations activities, payment activities, and as otherwise allowed under HIPAA. Business associates are entities or individuals that are not employed by Premera that perform covered services on its behalf. Premera must have contracts with its business associates that require them to maintain the confidentiality of your personal information. For example, you can see if your recent office visit claim has been paid or you can see a list of all of the prescriptions you have filled in the recent past. Such prescription information is provided by Premera's pharmacy benefit provider.
Information provided by your employer or health & wellness vendor
Your employer may have contracted with a vendor to administer a health or wellness program, which may include, but is not limited to, a health risk assessment. Depending on the terms of use of that program, the results of such campaigns and/or assessments, including but not limited to body fat mass index (BMI) and other health and lifestyle related measurements, may be forwarded to a partner site for inclusion in your personal health record (PHR) or other sections of this site.
If you no longer desire to use Premera.com (or its partner sites), we will endeavor to provide a way to correct, update or remove the personal information provided to us. We are required to maintain collected information for several years. To request help or discontinue service, please contact Premera Customer Service at the number on the back of your Member ID card.
To whom can Premera.com or its partner sites disclose my personal information?
Premera may disclose your personal information to business associates or third parties for health care operation activities, payment activities, or as otherwise allowed or required by law without obtaining specific authorization from you. We may disclose personal information to your health care provider for the provider's treatment, payment or health care operation activities. We may also disclose your personal information to your employer or its business associate to administer its wellness program or for its health care operations or payment activities under HIPAA. For example, your employer may offer to pay an incentive to employees who complete a Health Risk Assessment, and in order for payment to be made, we will need to disclose, to your employer, that you completed the assessment. With your consent, we may also disclose your personal information to third parties in connection with wellness programs you elect to participate in. For example, we may provide your personal information to a third party in order to permit that third party to deliver a reward you earned. For more information on other disclosures that are allowed or required by law, see the Premera Notice of Privacy Practices.
What are my rights regarding personal information?
Please see the Premera Notice of Privacy Practices. For example, the website does NOT allow you to change personal information provided by the health plan. To request changes to that information, please see Premera's Notice of Privacy Practices.
Security of your personal information
Premera.com takes precautions to protect users' personal information both online and offline. Premera protects information by applying the following practices:
Encryption software called SSL: Once a user has successfully logged into his or her account the "lock" icon on the bottom of web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Google Chrome becomes locked, as opposed to unlocked, or "to open," when you are just "surfing."
Password Protection: Premera uses passwords to authenticate users before granting access to personal Information.
Limiting access to information: Premera protects user-information on-line and off-line in all partner offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job are granted access to personal information. Third party vendors have limited access and/or are only provided information to perform their functions. Such third party vendors are required to sign business associate agreements by which they agree to maintain the confidentiality of personal information in accordance with HIPAA.
Changes to the Privacy Statement: Premera reserves the right to revise or amend the terms of its Privacy Statement in accordance with HIPAA and other federal and state law. By using any of our partner websites and the services available, you consent to our collection and use of your personal information as described herein. Any change to this Privacy Statement will immediately be posted to the Privacy Policy link on this website. The Privacy Statement will always post a date of the last revision. It is your responsibility to check this date and to review the changes. In this way, we can make the adjustments necessary to improve our services to you and comply with relevant new regulations.
Linking to other sites: The Premera website and partner health sites contains links to other sites that contain health information for consumers. Premera and its partners are not responsible for the availability, content, or privacy practices of these sites, nor does Premera endorse, warrant, or guarantee the products, services or information described or offered on these external sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personal or protected health information. When you leave the Premera site and go to an external resource you will see the following message "The site is outside of the Health Management System and its own privacy policy and terms." The third party website, not Premera or its partners, are responsible for complying with their privacy policy. Premera will present material from external sources in a manner and context that clearly differentiates the third party material from Premera and its partner content.
Premera encourages you to report any non-functioning links so we can remove or correct those connections. To report non-functioning links, please contact Premera Customer Service at the number on the back of your Member ID card.
Entering linked or advertising service websites: Although a linked site may capture your domain type and the binary code address for your domain, your click on an advertisement, and may also place cookies on your computer, Premera does not collect personal information from third party sites. Premera also do not permit them to collect other personal information without your specific consent.
Protection of children
We do not collect Protected Health Information from any person we actually know is a child under the age of 13. A parent or guardian may establish a personal health record (PHR) for a minor. The parent or guardian is solely responsible for providing supervision of the minor's use of the Premera website. The parent or guardian assumes full responsibility for ensuring that the authentication information is kept secure and that the information submitted is accurate. The parent or guardian assumes full responsibility for the interpretation and use of any information or suggestions provided through Premera for a minor child.
Disclaimer of warranties
All services provided hereunder are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and without warranty of any kind. Premera Blue Cross does not make and hereby disclaim any representations or warranties, arising by law or otherwise, regarding the services. Without limiting the foregoing, we specifically disclaim any representation or warranty that use of the website will meet your requirements or that the service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free. You expressly acknowledge and agree that the use of the website is at your own risk.
Limitation; exclusion of liability
In no event shall Premera Blue Cross or partner websites be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, special, indirect, incidental and consequential damages, lost profits, or damages resulting from lost data or business interruption) arising from your use or inability to use the website or the tools or services available on the website, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Health & wellness: Partner provided tools
Premera's website provides you access to Health & Wellness websites provided by partners. Premera and these partners provide access to these tools including a personal health record (PHR) and various features contained in it to assist you in managing your health and assist Premera in its administration of your health plan. Premera and all partner companies are committed to maintaining the privacy and integrity of your personal information in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and other applicable state and federal laws.
Premera's Notice of Privacy Practices describes how your personal information may be used and disclosed, and how you can get access to this information. That Notice applies to this website and to partner websites.
Participating in surveys & contests on the website. From time to time our site requests information from users via surveys. Participation in these surveys is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information and demographic information (for example name, email address, date of birth, gender, member identification number and/or mailing address, ZIP Code). Survey information will be used for purposes of improving your experiences within our site.
Correcting or deleting information you provide. You have the opportunity to change or delete information that YOU have previously furnished and saved by you into your personal health record (PHR). Your PHR includes the information entered by you using the tools and assessments on the website. To change or delete information that you personally entered on the site, go to the PHR section. If you have any problems deleting or changing your information, you can contact Premera Customer Service at the number on the back of your Member ID card.
How does Premera or its partners use my personal information?
Premera or its partners will use your personal information to identify your individual health characteristics and display it in various sections of the website. For example, if you complete a Health Risk Assessment and indicate that you have heart disease, an identifier will indicate that you have this condition. Premera or its partners will use this information along with the rest of your data to determine whether to make specific recommendations to you in order to improve your health or to reduce your risk of experiencing an adverse event.
Premera or its partners may display the identifier and recommendations in your PHR or you may receive personalized emails from us. You may also be identified by means of specific calculations related to certain conditions, such as heart disease to receive personalized recommendations such as certain lab tests, health provider follow-up, diet, medication and other recommended guideline based treatment options suggested for your particular condition. When registering, you have the ability to check a box that states, "Yes, please send me periodic email messages with personalized health information, news, and tips."
If you decide, after receiving an email, that you would not wish to receive these messages, you may opt out of the service by: changing your email options in the Preferences area and clicking “Modify" or by calling Premera Customer Service at the number on the back of your Member ID card.
Premera or its partners also send the user occasional site and service announcement updates. Members are not able to opt out of service announcements as these contain important information about the service. Premera or its partners communicate via email or phone with users to reply to requests or to announce any significant changes relating to their accounts.
Premera or its partners may also use your personal information to carry on our own business planning and health care operations activities. We need to do this so we can provide you with benefits and ensure you receive the highest quality services.
How does Premera or its partners use my personal information collected on this website?
Premera may use your personal information for its healthcare operations activities and other purposes as described in its Notice of Privacy Practices.
Contacting Premera about this Policy:
We welcome your feedback.
If you have questions or comments about our Terms and Conditions or Privacy Policy, please contact Premera Customer Service at the number on the back of your Member ID card.