Privacy Policy
Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM
PRIVACY POLICY
Effective Date: September 15, 2016
Welcome! You have arrived at an online service location (e.g., web site or application) that is owned and operated by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association ("BCBSA" or "we," "our" or "us"). This "Privacy Policy" governs your use of any online service location (e.g., web site or application) that posts a link to this Privacy Policy, and also applies to your use of interactive features, widgets, plug-ins, applications, content, downloads and/or other services (collectively, the "Service") that: (i) we own and control and make available through an online service; or (ii) that posts a link to this Privacy Policy, regardless of how you access or use the Service, whether via personal computers, mobile devices or otherwise.
To the extent we provide you notice on our Service of different or additional privacy policies or practices (e.g., at the point of our collection), those additional terms shall govern such data collection and use. By using our Service, you consent to our Privacy Policy and our collection, use and sharing of your information and data, and other activities, as described below.
Other than to fulfill a request from you or as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy, we won’t sell, rent or share any personally-identifiable information you provide without your consent.
- We won’t send you any unsolicited e-mail ("spam").
- No personally-identifiable information collected at this Service will ever be used to affect your health insurance coverage by or premiums paid to a Blue Cross and Blue Shield Company.
The Information We Collect
Our web servers automatically capture your domain name, the IP address of the web page from which you enter our Service, browser type, the pages you visit on our Service, the amount of time you spend here and other relevant information about your visit. We do not collect any information that can reveal your personal identity unless you voluntarily provide it when you register to use interactive features of the Service, including the sales portal, or to receive information from us or our member Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies ("Blue Plans"). The information we collect is not part of any designated record set.
Personally identifiable information voluntarily provided by you may be retained indefinitely for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
Use of the Information this Service Gathers/Tracks
Any personally-identifiable information you give us will be used only to provide the product, service or information you have requested, like a quote from one of the Blue companies, or to support the programs for which you registered. Unless you specifically consent to let us do so, your personally-identifiable information, including your e-mail address, will not be sold, rented, licensed, or otherwise shared with third parties, other than our member Blue companies as required to fulfill a request from you. The non-personally identifiable information we gather in aggregate form may be used to improve our Service, and we may share that information with our member Blue companies or our health and wellness sponsors. Personal information you voluntarily provide and the non-personally identifiable information we collect in aggregate form will not affect your insurance coverage, eligibility, premiums or claims payment by any Blue Cross and Blue Shield company.
We may offer sweepstakes, contests, and other promotions (any, a "Promotion") through the Service that may require registration. By participating in a Promotion, you are agreeing to official rules that govern that Promotion, which may contain specific requirements of you, including, allowing the sponsor of the Promotion to use your name, voice and/or likeness in advertising or marketing associated with the Promotion. If you choose to enter a Promotion, personal information may be disclosed to third parties or the public in connection with the administration of such Promotion, including, in connection with winner selection, prize fulfillment, and as required by law or permitted by the Promotion’s official rules, such as on a winners list.
We may use third-party vendors to perform certain services on behalf of us or the Service, such as hosting the Service, designing and/or operating the Service’s features, tracking the Service’s activities and analytics. We may provide these vendors with access to user information or they may directly collect your information to carry out the services they are performing for you or for us. Third-party analytics and other service providers may set and access their own tracking technologies on your device and they may otherwise collect or have access to information about you, potentially including personal information, about you. We are not responsible for those third party technologies or activities arising out of them.
We do not control or manage the privacy practices of third parties, and you are subject to the privacy practices of those third parties when you use their services. This Site uses the tool “Google Analytics” to collect data on the use of this Site and help us better understand our visitors’ usage. To access Google Analytics’ privacy policy and/or opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics, please visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we may also disclose your information if we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary or appropriate to: (i) protect or defend the rights, safety or property of Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM or third parties (including through the enforcement of this Privacy Policy, and other applicable agreements and policies); or (ii) comply with legal and regulatory obligations (e.g., pursuant to law enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or court orders). To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we have complete discretion in electing to make or not make such disclosures, and to contest or not contest requests for such disclosures, all without notice to you.
Making Changes to the Information You Provide to Us
Information that you voluntarily provided will be maintained as long as Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM deems appropriate to fulfill the purpose for which you provided the information or until you request us to remove it.
Cookies
When you visit the Service, we may place a temporary "session" or a permanent cookie on your computer that will allow us to customize and enhance your experience at the Service, make improvements to our Service, or to report Service activity. Our session cookies are not permanently stored on your computer and expire when you leave. Permanent cookies are issued only to Service visitors who link the Service from a search engine and are used only to permit BCBSA to attract qualified users to the Service. Our cookies will never be used to track your activity on any third party web sites or to send spam, nor will they provide us with any personally identifiable information about you. We store cookie information only in aggregate form and use the aggregate information only to make improvements to the Service or in internal reports on Service activity. You may use your browser controls to refuse to allow cookies to be placed on your computer. Refusing cookies disables our ability to include information about your visit in our regular monitoring of Service traffic.
Web Server Logs and IP Addresses
An Internet Protocol (“IP”) address is a number that automatically identifies the computer/machine you have used to access the Internet. The IP address enables our server to send you the web pages that you want to visit, and it may disclose the server owned by your Internet Service Provider. Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM may use IP addresses to conduct website analyses and performance reviews and to administer the Website.
Sites We Link To
If you choose to use any of the links we provide to our member companies, sponsors, and other third party resources, you will be leaving our Service and going to a new web site. Protection of your privacy at those other sites will be governed by the privacy policy at that site.
What Should Parents Know About Children?
We understand the importance of protecting children’s privacy in the interactive world. We do not use the Service to knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13) without parental consent. If you are a child under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to use the Service and should not send any information about yourself to us through the Service.
In the event that we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from any child, we will dispose of that information in accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and other applicable laws and regulations. If you are a parent or guardian and you believe that your child under the age of 13 has provided us with information without your consent, please contact us at bcbswebmaster@bcbsa.com, and we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is deleted from our files.
Automatically Collected Information and Anonymous Information
Aggregated Data. Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM collects aggregate queries for internal reporting and also counts, tracks, and aggregates the visitor's activity into Blue Cross Blue Shield Global’s general traffic-flow at the Website. To these ends, Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM may merge information about you into aggregated group data. In some cases, Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM may remove personal identifiers from Personal Information and maintain it in aggregate form that may later be combined with other information to generate anonymous, aggregated statistical information. Such anonymous, group data may be shared on an aggregated basis with Blue Cross Blue Shield Global’sTM affiliates, business partners, service providers vendors and/or analytics and search engine providers; if it does so, Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM will not disclose your individual identity.
We collect information on visitors' activity on the Website. This is commonly referred to as ‘web analytics’ information, which may include information such as where the visitor has come from (e.g. referring domains, search engines, marketing campaigns), pages viewed, the site path of the visitor, which content visitors are clicking on, which products visitors are interested in and purchase. We do not collect any personal information (e.g. name, address, email address) using the web analytics but we do collect IP addresses. Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM does not link any ‘web analytics’ information to an individual.
Changes to this Policy
If we make any changes to this Privacy Policy, we’ll let you know the effective date of the changes and you can contact our Webmaster if you’d like to know more about what’s new. If you have any questions or comments or receive any unwanted e-mail from this Service, please contact our Webmaster via e-mail at bcbswebmaster@bcbsa.com. Questions regarding the privacy policy of your independent, local Blue Cross and Blue Shield Company should be directed to that company.
Under Special Circumstances:
Blue Cross Blue Shield GlobalTM may provide information about you to respond to subpoenas, court orders, legal process or governmental regulations, in the context of actual or potential legal actions, or to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims. We believe it is necessary to share information in order to investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, or as otherwise required by law.
Disclosures for Bupa Global: Bupa Global is a trade name of Bupa, an independent licensee of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. Restrictions and limitations apply in some areas. For more information, visit bupaglobalaccess.com.
Disclosures for GeoBlue: GeoBlue is the trade name of Worldwide Insurance Services, LLC (Worldwide Services Insurance Agency, LLC in California and New York), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association: made available in cooperation with Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies in select service areas. Coverage is provided under insurance policies underwritten by 4 Ever Life Insurance Company, Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.