Website privacy policy

Effective as of January 10, 2023

This Website Privacy Policy is part of the Website Terms of Use.

It describes the type of information HealthPartners collects from website visitors and users and how we use and protect the information we collect. This Policy applies to all visitors and users including HealthPartners members and HealthPartners-affiliated clinic or hospital patients, and health and well-being participants, and participants in health and well-being programs that HealthPartners administers. This Policy applies to users of the HealthPartners mobile application.

This Policy also describes how we manage and protect both Health Information and Personal Information (defined below) that you give us through this website, how we use and share that information, and how you may exercise your rights with regard to your Health Information and Personal Information.

By using the Site and the HealthPartners mobile application, you are consenting to our collecting, using, and disclosing your Health and Personal Information as described in this Policy. Please read this Policy carefully and do not continue to use this Site if you do not agree to have your information treated in this way.

Changes to Web Privacy Practices

We may update this Policy from time to time without prior notice. Changes apply to the information collected from the date we post the revision, as well as to information we already hold. We encourage you to visit and review this page frequently so you are aware of any changes since your last visit to the website.

Health Information

“Health Information” is information that identifies you as a current or former HealthPartners plan member, a current or former HealthPartners patient, or a current or former health and well-being participant and that relates to your health or condition, your health care services, payment, or coverage for those services.

The privacy of Health Information is governed by the applicable Notice of Privacy Practices as outlined below.

• If you are a HealthPartners health plan member, please read the Health Plan Notice of Privacy Practices for a description of our privacy practices and your rights as a health plan member.
• If your employer is self-insured and HealthPartners administers your employer’s plan, please check with your employer for your employer’s health plan’s privacy practices.
• If you are a HealthPartners or affiliated clinic or hospital patient, please read the Notice of Privacy Practices for Clinics, Hospitals and Other Care Providers Affiliated with the HealthPartners and Park Nicollet Family of Care for a description of our privacy practices and your rights as a patient.

Your Personal Information

“Personal information” refers to specific facts that can be used to identify or contact you as an individual. Personal Information includes, for example, your name, home address and phone number, birth date, your sex, email address or other information that is unique to you that may not directly relate to your health.

“Personal Information” does not include information that identifies a computer used to access this site because that information doesn’t identify the person using the computer. (See the section below about “Cookies and Other Information about Your Visit.”)

We collect your Personal Information through this website only if you provide it to us, and use it as provided in this Website Privacy Policy. For example, we collect Personal Information you submit when you register with this Site, make a payment, sign up for a newsletter, or ask us question. If you choose not to provide personal information, then HealthPartners may be unable to provide quotes for our products and services, process your insurance application, or provide access to your secure online account.

Children under the age of thirteen

This Site is not intended for children or minors under the age of thirteen years without the permission of a parent or guardian. If you believe that a child has submitted Personal Information on or through this Site without the consent and supervision of a parent or guardian, please contact us using the information provided below.

Security of Health Information and Personal Information

We maintain a variety of physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards designed to protect your Health Information and Personal Information and prevent unauthorized access when the information is in our control. We update these safeguards from time to time to make them more effective, but no safeguard can be 100% effective.

In addition, you should remember that no system can perfectly prevent an unauthorized person from intentionally viewing information while it is in transit over the Internet or via email. Therefore, HealthPartners cannot and does not guarantee the confidentiality or security of information you send to us via the Internet or by email.

How HealthPartners uses and shares personal information

1. We will use and share Personal Information obtained through this website with our employees, contractors, and others to the extent necessary for any of the following purposes:
   • To allow you to participate in a program you have enrolled in.
   • To provide a product or service you have asked for or purchased.
   • To send you information you have asked for, such as a quote for insurance coverage.
   • To promote our products or services to you.
   • To enable you to provide feedback to us on our products and services.
   • To improve the content, functionality, and usability of this Site.
   • To contact you with information and notices related to your use of this Site.
2. We will share Personal Information to the extent necessary to comply with a subpoena, court or administrative order, law, rule, regulation, or similar requirement that we believe in good faith legally obligates us to share it.
3. We may use Personal Information to the extent necessary to protect our website, our rights, and to avoid or minimize our liability. For example, we may use Personal Information to identify someone who is using our site for an illegal purpose and disclose it to law enforcement or our attorneys to consider taking legal action.
4. We may share Personal Information with a new entity that controls us, or that we control, as a result of a corporate reorganization, such as a merger, acquisition or similar action.
5. If your employer offers a reward for participating in a program or activity (for example, completing a health assessment), we will only provide enough information to your employer so your employer can administer the reward. The type of information we may provide includes, for example, your name, address, birth date, the date you enrolled in a program, and the date you completed a program.

Cookies and Other Information about Your Visit

We collect information about visitors to our site using “cookies” and other technologies that help us to make our site more useful to our visitors. These technologies place a small text or graphic file on your computer’s browser directory or program data subfolder that identifies the computer being used to visit the site. A cookie is not Personal Information because it does not identify who the visitor is, only the computer that is being used to visit the site.

Most major websites, including this one, use third party cookies and similar technologies to help visitors navigate the site more successfully. They also provide information about visitors’ behavior on the site that help us improve the site and our marketing programs and to customize the online experience to the users’ needs. We may also use this information to tailor advertisements and offers to you, both on our websites and on other websites. We may combine this website information with Personal Information you’ve given us in other ways in order to improve your overall experience with HealthPartners.

If you do not want to have cookies placed on your computer, you can set your web browser to not accept them, or you can delete them manually. You should remember, however, that disabling cookies may limit your ability to use some features of this website. If you would like more information about these practices and to know your choices about not having this information used by ad servers, visit the Network Advertising Initiative. Some ad servers allow you to opt out of anonymous data collection through the use of cookies. To do so, you must opt out of such data collection with each individual site. You can opt out of cookies for several ad servers by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative gateway opt-out site. At that site you can also review the privacy policies of those ad servers.

Note that we do not currently respond to web browser “do not track” or “DNT” signals that you can set through your browser settings. These signals are intended to give website visitors the opportunity to opt out of our collecting of information about the visitors’ online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services. However, because there is currently no common definition of what such signals are and no industry-accepted standards for how such signals should be interpreted; we do not promise to abide by DNT signals.

Information from your mobile device

If you download one of our mobile applications or access the mobile version of this Site, we may automatically collect certain information from or about your mobile device. The types of information we may collect include the same kind of information we collect from a desktop computer visitor.

Using GPS technology, and with your opt-in consent (on your mobile device), we may also collect precise, real-time location information from your mobile device and use that information to deliver tailored content to you. For example, if you are in need of urgent care and search the mobile version of this Site for an urgent care clinic, we may use location information from your mobile device to direct you to the clinic nearest you. Your mobile device may allow you to adjust your settings so that location information is not available to any mobile website or application. If you have questions about the security and privacy settings of your mobile device, please refer to instructions from your mobile service provider or the manufacturer of your device.

Depending on your device, the HealthPartners mobile application may have access to the following information from your mobile device:

• Camera – May allow app to take pictures for the claims reimbursement process and other documentation.
• Phone– May directly read/call phone numbers.
• Bluetooth/BLE – Bluetooth features are enabled through the website and not directly from the mobile app.
• Images and files – The HealthPartners app may read or write to local storage for some files such as the Plan ID card, claims or Explanations of Benefits.

External Links

This site may contain links to websites operated by third parties other than HealthPartners. This Website Privacy Policy applies only to this website and not to any third-party site we may link to. HealthPartners isn’t responsible for and has no control over the privacy policies and practices of third party sites that we link to and we encourage you to read the privacy statements of each and every website that requests Personal Information from you before you provide any information.

Please note that, to make a seamless user experience, we allow some third-party sites to brand themselves to look like they are offered by HealthPartners. You can tell what terms apply by clicking on the “Privacy” or similar term in the universal footer at the bottom of the web page.

Contact Information

All questions and concerns about your privacy can be sent to privacy@healthpartners.com or by mail to:

HealthPartners
Attention: Office of Integrity and Compliance
8170 33rd Ave. S.
Bloomington, MN 55425