Privacy

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
The terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices apply to the Covered Entity known as McKinley Life Insurance Company, which also does business under the trade names PrimeTime Health Plan, AultCare HMO, and Aultra, and which is part of an Organized Health Care Arrangement with AultCare Corporation and Aultra Administrative Group, which are affiliated entities. The organization will share protected health information of members as necessary to carry out treatment, payment, and health care operations as permitted by law.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION

Your Authorization.

Except as outlined below, we will not use or disclose your protected health information for any purpose unless you have signed a form authorizing the use or disclosure. You have the right to revoke that authorization in writing unless we have taken

Disclosures for Treatment.

We will make disclosures of your protected health information as necessary for your treatment. For instance, a doctor or health facility involved in your care may request certain of your protected health information that we hold in order to make decisions about your care.

Uses and Disclosures for Payment.

We will make uses and disclosures of your protected health information as necessary for payment purposes. For instance, we may use information regarding your medical procedures and treatment to process and pay claims, to determine whether services are medically necessary or to otherwise pre-authorize or certify services as covered under your health benefits plan. We may also forward such information to another health plan which may also have an obligation to process and pay claims on your behalf.

Uses and Disclosures for Health Care Operations.

We will use and disclose your protected health information as necessary, and as permitted by law, for our health care operations which include credentialing health care providers, peer review, business management, accreditation and licensing, utilization review and management, quality improvement and assurance, enrollment, underwriting, reinsurance, compliance, auditing, rating, and other functions related to your health benefits plan. We may also disclose your protected health information to another health care facility, health care professional, or health plan for such things as quality assurance and case management, but only if that facility, professional, or plan also has or had a patient relationship with you.

Family and Friends Involved In Your Care.

With your approval, we may from time to time disclose your protected health information to designated family, friends, and others who are involved in your care or in payment for your care in order to facilitate that person's involvement in caring for you or paying for your care. If you are unavailable, incapacitated, or facing an emergency medical situation, and we determine that a limited disclosure may be in your best interest, we may share limited protected health information with such individuals without your approval. For members of PrimeTime Health Plan only, if you have designated a person to receive information regarding payment of the premium on your Medicare MCO policy, we will inform that person when your premium has not been paid. We may also disclose limited protected health information to a public or private entity that is authorized to assist in disaster relief efforts in order for that entity to locate a family member or other persons that may be involved in some aspect of caring for you.

Business Associates.

Certain aspects and components of our services are performed through contracts with outside persons or organizations, such as auditing, accreditation, actuarial services, legal services, etc. At times it may be necessary for us to provide certain of your protected health information to one or more of these outside persons or organizations who assist us with our health care operations. In all cases, we require these business associates to appropriately safeguard the privacy of your information.

Communications With You.

We may communicate with you regarding your claims, premiums, or other things connected with your health plan. You have the right to request and we will accommodate reasonable requests by you to receive communications regarding your protected health information from us by alternative means or at alternative locations. For instance, if you wish messages to not be left on voice mail or sent to a particular address, we will accommodate reasonable requests. You may request such confidential communication in writing and may send your request to Privacy Coordinator, P.O. Box 6029, Canton, Ohio 44706.

Other Health-Related Products or Services.

We may, from time to time, use your protected health information to determine whether you might be interested in or benefit from treatment alternatives or other health-related programs, products or services which may be available to you as a member of the health plan. For example, we may use your protected health information to identify whether you have a particular illness, and contact you to advise you that a disease management program to help you manage your illness better is available to you as a health plan member. We will not use your information to communicate with you about products or services which are not health-related without your written permission.

Research.

In limited circumstances, we may use and disclose your protected health information for research purposes. For example, a research organization may wish to compare outcomes of patients by payer source and will need to review a series of records that we hold. In all cases where your specific authorization has not been obtained, your privacy will be protected by strict confidentiality requirements applied by an Institutional Review Board or privacy board which oversees the research or by representations of the researchers that limit their use and disclosure of member information.

Other Uses and Disclosures.

We are permitted or required by law to make certain other uses and disclosures of your protected health information without your authorization.