We Protect Your Personal Information
We know your privacy is very important to you. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington Options, Inc., as health care carriers, take steps to safeguard your personal information and protect your privacy rights under state and federal laws. The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner requires us to inform you of the following information.
What types of personal information do we collect?
- Basic application information, such as your name, address, birth date, Social Security number, marital status, and dependents.
- Your medical information.
- Your transactional history with us, such as services or products we provided, claims information, and payment history.
- Information provided by your employer, benefits plan sponsor, or association regarding any Kaiser Permanente plan and your current member status.
When do we disclose personal information?
We will not disclose personal information collected from you unless we’re allowed or required to by law, or if you give us permission. Here are some examples:
- To confirm to a health care provider that you are eligible for coverage under a Kaiser Permanente plan.
- To assist companies in marketing our own products and services (such as the company that mails Northwest Health magazine).
- To comply with a subpoena.
How do we protect information?
- We treat all your personal information as confidential, whether we receive it verbally, electronically, or in writing.
- All of our employees must agree to follow strict confidentiality policies and practices.
- Access to your personal information is kept to a minimum and provided only on a need-to-know basis.
- Physical and electronic safeguards help to protect against unauthorized access to your information, including any secure messages or transactions conducted online at Kaiser Permanente member website, our password-protected site for members.
What we don't do.
We never sell or rent your personal information.
You also have privacy rights under state and federal law, like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Kaiser Permanente's Notice of Privacy Practices includes greater detail about how your personal and health information may be used and disclosed, and your rights regarding that information.