Financial information privacy notice

Octave Blue Cross and Blue Shield understands the privacy of your employees’ information is important to you. The proper handling and security of that information is one of our highest priorities. We want you to know how we protect that information should any of your employees have questions about how their information is handled.

Customer information

Octave Blue Cross collects nonpublic personal financial information about the members of your health plan from several sources. This information includes such items as names and other personal identifiers from applications for Octave Blue Cross products, transaction information from the use of our products, and information related to the fact that your employees have been or currently are our customers.

Sharing of information

Octave Blue Cross does not disclose, and does not wish to reserve the right to disclose, nonpublic personal information about your health plan employees to our affiliates or other parties except as permitted or required by law. Examples of instances in which Octave Blue Cross may provide personally-identifiable information about your employees (including but not limited to name, postal and email addresses, telephone numbers, and related nonpublic financial information) to affiliates or other third parties are:

• To service or process products that your employees have requested.
• To provide information as permitted and required by law to accrediting agencies.
• To provide information to comply with federal, state or local laws in an administrative or judicial process.
• To provide information to a business associate (including one of our affiliated companies) working with Octave Blue Cross in providing services to your health plan.

How we protect your information

Octave Blue Cross uses various security mechanisms to protect your employees’ personal data including electronic and physical measures as well as company policies that limit employee access to nonpublic personal financial information. Improper access and use of confidential information by a Octave Blue Cross employee can result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

Disclosure of privacy notice

Octave Blue Cross recognizes and respects the privacy concerns of potential, current and former customers. Octave Blue Cross is committed to safeguarding this information. This Financial Information Privacy Notice is provided for informational purposes and will be updated and distributed as required by law. It is also available on our website at healthadvantage-hmo.com or from our Customer Service Call Centers. Our Customer Service Call Centers are open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Central time, Monday through Friday.

Octave Blue Cross— 800-843-1329

Our Call Center is available between the hours of 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday.

Frequently asked questions

What is the purpose of this notice?

This notice is a requirement of a new state regulation that deals with the insurance industry, which goes into effect July 1, 2001. This regulation largely applies to insurance companies, but you may have gotten similar notices from your bank or credit card companies since there is a similar federal law for financial services firms.

What regulation is this?

Arkansas Insurance Commission Rule & Regulation 74.

What will it mean to me?

This notice is a method of letting you know the Octave Blue Cross policy on handling your nonpublic personal financial information. Because Octave Blue Cross has always handled this information in the most secure way possible, nothing will change in the way we conduct business with you.

What does "nonpublic personal financial information" mean?

The regulation defines nonpublic personal financial information as any information that can be tied back to a specific person, and is gathered using any source that is not publicly available, even if the information could be gathered publicly (i.e., using your address and phone number from your application for insurance even though the information may be in the phone book).

You state that you don't disclose nonpublic personal information to affiliates or other parties except as permitted by law, what does this mean?

We provide only information to other parties that help us carry out our operations and to those agencies that the law requires. This means that we do provide information to our business partners for paying claims and other operational functions and to government and other agencies that require it for purposes such as court cases or audits. But we do not disclose your information to others for marketing or research activities, nor do we sell information about you to other companies.

Why can't I "opt out" of this notice?

As the notice states, Octave Blue Cross does not disclose your information except as the law allows and only to those parties the law allows. We also do not reserve the right to do so in the future. This means that we have no intention of disclosing this information in any manner other than we currently do, or are required to, in the future. Because we do not disclose, there is no need for you to "opt out." With some companies, you are given the choice to "opt out" or not be included in lists or situations where your nonpublic personal information is disclosed to other parties.

Whom do I call if I have questions?

Octave Blue Cross members should call our Customer Service Call Center at 800-843-1329 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday. The Financial Information Privacy Notice is provided for information purposes and will be updated and distributed as required by law.