Texas Farm Products Company Privacy Notice
“THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.”
Texas Farm Products Company, its business associates and affiliated companies respect your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information. Texas Farm Products Company may use and/or disclose your Protected Health Information (PHI) for the purposes of treatment, payment or other health care operations. PHI includes name, date of birth, social security number and other data elements that would identify an individual. We collect a variety of information to administer an employee health benefits program such as Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability and Section 125. This Notice also sets out our legal obligations concerning your protected health information, and describes your rights to access and control your protected health information.
Your health plan routinely uses and discloses your PHI for treatment, payment and health care operations.
Treatment, as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), “means the provision, coordination, or management of health care and related services…” EXAMPLE: The Health Plan may receive a proposal for surgical treatment from a physician prior to performing the services for the purpose of determining the appropriate benefit. Payment means “the activities undertaken by a health plan to obtain premiums or to determine or fulfill its responsibility for coverage and provision of benefits under the health plan, or a covered health care provider or health plan to obtain or provide reimbursement for the provision of health care”. EXAMPLE: The Health Plan will remit payment along with an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) to the provider of services, which contains PHI for the purpose of identifying the individual who received the services. Health Care Operations means, “conducting quality assessment and improvement activities… population-based activities relating to improving health or reducing health care costs…case management and care coordination…accreditation, certification, licensing, or credentialing activities, underwriting, premium rating, and other activities relating to the creation, renewal or replacement of a contract of health insurance or health benefits, and ceding, securing, or placing a contract for reinsurance of risk relating to claims for health care (including stop-loss insurance and excess of loss insurance), conducting or arranging for medical review, legal services, and auditing functions, including fraud and abuse detection and compliance programs, business planning and development, such as conducting cost-management and planning-related analyses related to managing and operating the entity, business management and administrative activities of the entity, including, but not limited to, customer service, including the provision of data analyses for policy holders, plan sponsors, or other customers, provided that protected health information is not disclosed to such policy holder, plan sponsor, or customer for resolution of internal grievances.” EXAMPLE: The Health Plan may disclose PHI to a Reinsurance Carrier for the purpose of obtaining the appropriate coverage level for the Health Plan.
In addition, Texas Farm Products Company may be required to use or disclose PHI to other entities such as Federal, State or Local officials as required by law. As a covered entity Texas Farm Products Company may have to release certain information for reasons such as public health activities; abuse, neglect or domestic violence; health oversight activities; judicial or administrative proceedings; law enforcement purposes; decedents; to avert a serious threat to health or safety; specialized government functions and workers compensation. The usages and disclosures will be limited to the relevant requirements of such law. Under no circumstances will Texas Farm Products Company ever disclose (to a third party) personal information about individual information or conditions, except when we believe in good faith that the law requires it.
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We contract with individuals and entities (Business Associates) to perform various functions on our behalf or to provide certain types of services. To perform these functions or to provide the services, our Business Associates will receive, create, maintain, use, or disclose PHI, but only after we require the Business Associates to agree in writing to contract terms designed to appropriately safeguard your information. Examples of our business associates would be our Third Party Administrator, which will be handling many of the functions in connection with the operation of our group health plan.
Other than as described above, Texas Farm Products Company will not release your PHI without your individual written authorization and respects your right to revoke such authorization. This revocation of authorization must be in writing. However, the revocation will not be effective for information that we already have used or disclosed, relying on the authorization.
Texas Farm Products Company acknowledges your individual rights with respect to your individually identifiable health information. Accordingly, we have listed the following rights that you are entitled to under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
§ You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health information. However, Texas Farm Products Company is not required to agree to this restriction.
§ You have the right to receive confidential communications;
§ You have the right to inspect and copy protected health information about yourself;
§ You have the right to amend protected health information;
§ You have a right to receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information;
§ You have the right to obtain a paper copy of the notice if you have agreed to receive such notice in an electronic format.
Texas Farm Products Company is required to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide individuals with this notice of its legal duties and privacy practices. Texas Farm Products Company is required to abide by the privacy notice that is currently in effect and if at any time changes it’s privacy practices it must notify you of the changes. Texas Farm Products Company reserves the right to change the terms of its notice and to make the new notice provisions effective for all PHI that is maintained. Texas Farm Products Company must provide you with a copy of such changes in either written or electronic format within sixty days.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to complain to the Privacy Officer of Texas Farm Products Company and or to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The complaint must be submitted in either written or electronic form detailing your concerns. All complaints are confidential and the law prohibits retaliation against any person filing a complaint. Your contact person is:
Larry Curry LaNette Story
Privacy Officer, Texas Farm Products Company Asst. Privacy Officer
P.O. Box 630009 P.O. Box 630009
915 South Fredonia Street 915 South Fredonia Street
Nacogdoches, Texas USA 75963-0009 Nacogdoches, Texas USA 75963-0009
(936)560-8213 936)560-8223
The effective date of this notice is: April 1, 2004