Medical Mutual Website Privacy Policy

Effective Date: March 1, 2024

HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

To read more about our privacy practices regarding health and medical information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), please click here, which links to our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.

Website Privacy Policy

We are very sensitive to privacy issues. The purpose of this Website Privacy Policy is to let you know how Medical Mutual of Ohio and its Family of Companies (collectively, “Medical Mutual”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) collect, use and disclose your personal information, member health information, and other information collected, and maintained and/or disclosed through the various websites, our mobile application and any related web-based services. For ease of reference, the access, transmission, viewing or other use of our various websites, our mobile application, and any related web-based services and Content (as defined below) such as text, information, images, video and audio and all services (“Online Services” or “Services”) and any of the information contained herein (collectively, this “Site”) is hereinafter referred to collectively as the “use” of, or “using”, the Site.

Please Read Carefully Prior To Using the Site. By entering and using this Site, you affirm that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy (which includes our State Privacy Law Addendum) and the Medical Mutual Terms of Use and that you agree to abide by them. If you do not agree to abide by the Medical Mutual Terms of Use  and this Privacy Policy, you may not enter, access, or otherwise use this Site. The use of this Site is conditioned upon your acceptance of the terms and conditions contained in this Privacy Policy which is part of and incorporated by reference into the Terms of Use of the Site.

This Privacy Policy lists our current policies, but as noted below, this Privacy Policy may be adjusted from time to time at our discretion. Please read the section on Changes to This Policy). Those who do not agree to be subject to this Privacy Policy may not, under any circumstances, use this Site. Collection of Personal Information

Our Privacy Policy explains :

When This Privacy Policy Applies

This Policy applies to Online Services that we own or operate and that contain a link to this Privacy Policy. Our Policy does not apply to information collected through other means such as by telephone, via Online Services that do not link to this Privacy Policy, or in person, although that information may be protected by other privacy policies.

Our Policy does not apply to the practices of other companies or other websites or software applications that may be linked from or made available through our Online Services.

The inclusion of a link on our Online Services or the ability to utilize a third-party website or software application through our Online Services does not imply that we endorse, or otherwise monitor the privacy or security practices of that third-party website or software application or the accuracy of its content, and your use of the third-party website or software application is governed by the third-party's privacy policy.

Some of our products and services are regulated by certain state and federal laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and may have specific privacy practices of which we want you to be aware. If you receive healthcare products or services, visit the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices to learn more about how we protect, use, and share protected health information (PHI) for your medical treatment, payment for services, operations, or as permitted by law. The HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices also describes your rights to:

  • Request access to your PHI, including your medical, billing, claims, and case management records;
  • Request a change or correction to your PHI; 
  • Request confidential communications;
  • Request a list of certain disclosures made of your PHI; 
  • Request certain restrictions on the use and disclosure of your PHI; and
  • Notify us of a personal representative permitted to act on your behalf.

As a convenience to our users, our Site may contain links to a number of other websites (“non-Medical Mutual of Ohio websites”) that we believe may offer useful information. Even though you may still see our logo, you are providing information to other linked websites when you leave our Site. Such links do not constitute an endorsement by Medical Mutual of those other websites, the content displayed therein, or the persons or entities associated therewith. The Privacy Policy presented here does not apply to those websites. You should contact those websites directly for information on their privacy policies, confidentiality agreements, and data collection/distribution procedures. We encourage visitors to read and become familiar with the privacy policies maintained by such other websites so that you can understand how those websites collect, use and share your information.

This Privacy Policy is not intended to and does not create any contractual or other legal rights in or on behalf of any party.

What Information We Collect About You

You should be aware that portions of the Site contain functions for collecting your personal information including, but not limited to, your name, email address, home or work address and telephone number as well as your history of accessing the Site. Medical Mutual may also collect anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your ZIP code, age, gender, preferences, and interests. 

As you navigate through and interact with our Site, we may use automatic data collection/tracking technologies to collect technical and usage data. Technical and usage data is information about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Site, and usage details. This information may include your IP address; operating system; browser type; domain names; the pages within the Website you visit; access dates and times; referring websites or addresses; and approximate location data (geolocation). This other information may or may not identify you, but in most instances it will not.

We do not collect personal information (such as names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or credit card numbers) about you, except when you specifically provide the information on a voluntary basis, such as when you:

  • Become a registered user of our Site or one or more of our Services;
  • Establish an account with us;
  • Sign-up or subscribe for products or Services, including submittal of an application for insurance and/or using our quotation system, that we periodically may make available; or
  • Complete a survey or questionnaire.

In these instances, Medical Mutual may ask you to provide us with personal information including, but not limited to, name, date of birth, member identification number, member group number, social security number, mailing address, telephone number (including mobile number), and email address. You may also be asked to create a unique username and password. Medical Mutual requires that the actual user input such information and that such information be the most recent available. In addition, you may request that we modify or delete your registered account information by sending an email to Medical Mutual of Ohio at CustomerService@medmutual.com, with the words “UPDATE USER INFORMATION” in the subject line.

We may collect information from and about you that may be considered Sensitive Data, depending on where you live, including personal information that reveals racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, union membership, a mental or physical health condition or diagnosis, sex life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, or citizenship or citizen (immigration) status.

If you use our mobile application, we may use GPS technology (or other similar technology) to determine your current location in order to determine the city you are located within and display a location map with relevant information. We will not share your current location with other users or partners. If you do not want us to use your location for the purposes set forth above, you should turn off the location services for the mobile application located in your account settings or in your mobile device settings and/or within the mobile application. 

Whenever you register for one or more of our Services, we may send an email to you with an authentication link to ensure the accuracy of the email address that you have supplied or to notify you that an application or quotation was requested. Your response to the authentication link may be necessary to complete your registration, which may be required to use our Services.

How We Collect Information

We collect the information described above in the following different ways:

  • We collect information directly from you, such as when you fill in forms on our Site, register or create an account, request further Services, report a problem, respond to a survey, or carry out a transaction.

  • We also collect information automatically as you navigate through and interact with our Site, using cookies, pixel tags, or web beacons. Here is some more information about the way cookies, pixel tags and web beacons work:

  • We may collect information about you from third parties, such as our business partners, service providers, contractors, other third parties, and public sources.

How We Use Your Information

Medical Mutual reserves the right to compile, save, use within the scope of our activities, and analyze any and all of your data (registration data, use history, etc.). Medical Mutual intends to use such data for internal purposes only, including without limitation for the purposes of responding to your requests for information and for contacting you.

Medical Mutual may contact you regarding the status of your account, your registration information, support issues regarding our service, and changes to our service or the terms under which it is offered.

Medical Mutual may use your personal information and member health information for several purposes, including to:

  • Operate, present, maintain and improve the Site and our Services;
  • Administer your account;
  • Provide you with information or Services you request, including but not limited to sharing your personal information and member health information with third parties with your approval and at your direction;
  • Process an application or quotation requested by you;
  • Resolve disputes;
  • Comply with laws and regulations;
  • Prevent prohibited activities and enforce our Terms of Use;
  • Facilitate your use of, and our operation of, our Services;
  • Analyze trends and statistics and for marketing, research, and development;
  • Deliver targeted service updates;
  • Contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you, as permitted by HIPAA; 
  • Verify information with third parties; 
  • Train any artificial intelligence or machine learning engine or system, neural network, or similar system of Medical Mutual or our contractors or service providers (collectively, “AI”);
  • Interact with AI in connection with your use of the Services, including without limitation using AI to process your personal information and generate output;
  • Monitor, audit, improve and develop the Services (including, without limitation, through use of AI, recording, and sessions playback technology); and
  • For any other purpose described to you through the Site, that you consent to, or that is otherwise permissible under the laws that apply to us.

Additionally, we may disclose your personally identifiable information when required by law, rule, or regulation. Specifically, we may disclose this information to unrelated parties in special cases when we have reason to believe that our disclosure is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against a person or persons who may be causing injury to, or interference with, the rights or property of Medical Mutual (including our Site), computer users accessing our Site, or any third party. In addition, we may disclose information about individuals who access our Site to law enforcement agencies, judicial or government authorities or to other individuals or entities in response to subpoenas, court orders or other legal processes.

Further, in the event that Medical Mutual goes through a business transition, such as a merger, an acquisition by another company, or a sale of all or a portion of its assets, your and other users’ personal information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. If as a result of the business transition, your personal information will be used in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection, you will be given the option to continue sharing the information consistent with this Privacy Policy. Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to interfere with the ability of Medical Mutual to transfer all or part of its business and/or assets (including the Site) for any purposes, without limitation.

To the extent permitted by the laws that apply to us, we may use analytics tools and other third-party technologies (such as Google Analytics, Webtrends, Sitecore, and DoubleClick Cookies) to track and analyze your usage of our sites through the use of cookies, pixel tags/web beacons, and similar technologies. These technologies collect information that relates to, but is not limited to, how certain features of our Site are used, the general region from which our visitors are contacting us, how many people visit our Site at any given time, the effectiveness of our advertisements, and the use of our Internet advertisements and other links from our marketing partners' sites to our sites. These technologies also help us target our Internet advertisements on our Site and on other sites. 
Third-party companies who collect information on our Site may combine this information with information they have independently gathered from other sites, services and applications relating to your activity on these other sites, services or applications. We do not control these third-party technologies, and their use of such technologies is governed by their own privacy policies.

We may also use your information as otherwise necessary or useful for us to conduct our business, so long as such use is permitted by law. We may use de-identified information for any purpose that is permitted by applicable law.

How We Share Your Information

Medical Mutual maintains certain electronic member health information that may be made available through the Services. This information includes but is not limited to the following: adjudicated claims data, including cost sharing information; encounter data from capitated providers; certain Part D formulary/drug data; and certain clinical data, including laboratory results. This information may reveal sensitive health information about the member, including information about treatment for substance use disorders, mental or behavioral health disorders, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), communicable diseases, developmental or intellectual disabilities, genetic disorders (including genetic testing for such disorders and genetic history) or other sensitive information (collectively “member health information”). By using Services that provide third parties with access to member health information at your direction and with your approval, you consent to the disclosure of this sensitive health information to those third parties.

Medical Mutual may provide aggregated statistics about users (including you) to third parties, but such information will be aggregated so that it does not identify a particular individual or company, including yourself. We may share, license, or sell the anonymous information we collect to third parties for the purpose of allowing marketing through our Site.

Medical Mutual may only share your personally identifiable information (name, email address, home or work address and telephone number) with third parties as permitted by our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices. All such third parties, who have confidentiality agreements with us, are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide Services to you in compliance with HIPAA.

Finally, if you are an adult member who is using Services, and you become legally incapacitated, you acknowledge and agree that Medical Mutual may provide your personal representative and/or others who become involved in your care or payment for your care with access to your member health information (including sensitive health information) that is available through the Services for the purpose of supporting your treatment, payment for that treatment, and assisting with the performance of normal health care operations activities, like coordinating care and improving health care services.

How to Manage Your Information

Electronic communications

You may receive various electronic communications from Medical Mutual, such as newsletters, account notifications, and other marketing communications about our products and Services. To opt-out of any specific electronic communication, follow the “unsubscribe” instructions associated with the specific communication. As a reminder to you, when exchanging emails, any email that you send or receive on your employer’s email system may be the property of your employer. Consequently, your employer may have the ability to review your personal information sent via email.

User Requests

If you have submitted personally identifiable information through this Site, you may request a restriction on the use and disclosure of your information. You may also request access to your protected health information held by Medical Mutual and you may request that we correct or amend your protected health information

Third-Party Analytics and Advertising

To the extent permitted by the laws that apply to us, our Site uses Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting to provide us with anonymous information on the characteristics and interests of our Site users.

To opt out of certain types of data collection or advertising, you can:

  • See youradchoices.com/control, and to opt out of such ad networks’ and services’ advertising practices, go to optout.aboutads.info and optout.networkadvertising.org. Once you click on the links, you may choose to opt out of such advertising from all participating advertising companies or only from advertising provided by specific advertising companies. Please that you may still receive advertisements even if you opt out of tailored advertising.
  • Modify your Google Ad settings to opt out of advertising based on your demographic characteristics and interests on Google advertising networks. Visit Google’s My Ad Center Help site for more information. 
  • Download a Google browser add-on to prevent data collection by Google Analytics. Visit Google’s Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On site for more information.
  • Set your advertising preferences for ad networks that are members of the National Advertising Initiative
  • Configure your browser settings to reject cookies. Directions can be found in the Privacy and Security settings in the Help function of all major browsers. Most users accept cookies. If you choose to disable your cookies and are a registered user, you may not have access to your personal information on our Site.

We do not control the above opt-out links and are not responsible for any choices you make using these mechanisms or the continued availability or accuracy of these mechanisms.

Protecting Your Information

Medical Mutual uses safeguards, such as data encryption, firewalls and system security measures to protect the confidentiality of your personally identifiable information. While Medical Mutual makes every reasonable effort to protect the information collected through the Site, please be aware that there is always some risk involved when submitting data over the Internet. We cannot guarantee that our Site is 100% safe from illegal tampering or “hacking.” Any data transmitted over the Internet may be at risk; however, once it is received at Medical Mutual and entered into a Medical Mutual database, any data you have submitted has the same protection that Medical Mutual extends to its own confidential information.

Agents and contractors of Medical Mutual who have access to personally identifiable information are required to protect this information in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy by, for example, not using the information for any purpose other than to carry out the services they are performing for Medical Mutual.

All information and correspondence you share with us will be handled in the strictest confidence. Please note that the email facilities on our Site (unlike those areas within the Site) do not provide the same level of security. For that reason, please do not email to communicate information to us that you consider confidential. If you wish, you may contact us instead via telephone at the Customer Service number located on your identification card.

If you suspect improper use or access to Medical Mutual information, please notify Medical Mutual immediately. Contact Medical Mutual’s Compliance and Incident Hotline at 800.762.8130 or online.

DNT Signals/Requests

Some website browsers have a “do not track” (DNT) feature that lets you tell other websites that you do not want to have your online activities tracked. No uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. We do not currently respond to a browser’s DNT signal.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only as long as needed to accomplish the purposes we describe in this Privacy Policy and to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (such as record retention laws that apply to us), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

If you are an inactive registered user of My Health Plan, we may retain your information for up to twelve (12) months after you are no longer active.

Children’s Privacy

This Site is for use by adults only. If you are not over 18 years of age, do not use this Site. 

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. You should be aware that this Site is not for or designed to attract children. We do not collect personally identifiable information from any person we actually know is a child.

Consumer Privacy Rights

Your state law may provide you with certain rights regarding our use of personal information. To learn more about any rights that may be applicable to you as a resident of one of these states and how to exercise those rights, please see our State Privacy Law Addendum.

We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

Accessibility

We are committed to ensuring that our communications are accessible to people with disabilities. To make accessibility-related requests or report barriers, please let us know by emailing AccessibilityHelp@MedMutual.com.

Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy (including the State Privacy Law Addendum) and the Terms of Use constitute the complete agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter and supersede any prior agreement or communication. Medical Mutual reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy without prior notice. Any revised Privacy Policy will be posted to this Site. You should review our Privacy Policy occasionally, or at least every thirty (30) days. Your continued use of this Site subsequent to Medical Mutual’s notice of modification of this Privacy Policy shall constitute your acceptance of the modified Privacy Policy.

If we make material changes to how we treat our users' personal information, we will notify you either by email to the primary email address specified in your account and/or through a notice on our Site home page.

Contact Medical Mutual

If you have questions or concerns regarding your privacy or this Privacy Policy, you should contact the Company at:

By Mail:
Medical Mutual of Ohio
Attn: Chief Legal Officer
100 American Road
Cleveland, Ohio 44144

By Phone: 800.382.5729
By Email: CustomerServices@medmutual.com