NOTICE OF HEALTH PLANS PRIVACY POLICY

							NOTICE OF HEALTH PLANS PRIVACY POLICY

12.12.02.03

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released final rules on the protection of the privacy of non-public personally identifiable health information August 14, 2002. This Privacy Notice is to help you understand how the City of Sarasota protects your non-public personal financial and group health plan information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Regulations: Effective April 14, 2003, all covered entities, which includes the City’s self funded group health plans, the City’s affiliates and vendors, must be compliant with the HIPAA Privacy Regulations. This law refers to the non-public information of the employee and their dependents (if applicable), with regard to your group health plan benefits, and can only be disclosed by the City and their vendors, and your health care provider/s, for payment of claims, treatment of your illness, and for health care operations – administration of your health benefits, as permitted by law and defined in the HIPAA regulations. Any other disclosure must have the individual’s authorization. At the City of Sarasota we are committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of the information we collect about you, including your health information (Protected Health Information, PHI). Because we respect the individual’s right to privacy, we have always placed a high priority on the personal information you provide us. The City ensures you that the protection of your non-public information is of paramount importance to us. Any violation of the provisions in this notice by any City employee may result in immediate disciplinary action, and any deliberate violation may result in termination of employment and possible referral for criminal prosecution. This notice describes our privacy policy and how your personally identifiable health information may be used and disclosed, and your rights with regard to protection and access to this information as defined by federal regulations. This policy remains in full effect until superceded. Please review it carefully. The HIPAA Privacy Rules requires employers who offer group health plans to employees and their dependents to provide adequate notice of the uses and disclosures of protected health information. Additional authorization / documentation is required for any disclosure outside the use of payment, treatment and health care operations. We maintain appropriate physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to maintain the confidentiality and security of your PHI contained in our records. We restrict access to your PHI only to those on “a need to know basis” to provide products or services to you and for re-insurance purposes. Only the minimum necessary information is disclosed to accomplish the required service. Personally identifying information about you will be confidentially maintained during and after

your employment with us for the required time thereafter that such records are required to be maintained by federal and state securities laws, the Internal Revenue Service, any applicable state department of insurance and consistent with sound business practices. Minimum Necessary disclosure of your PHI. It is the City’s policy to limit the use or disclosure of, and requests for, the individuals PHI by defined City personnel on a “need to know basis”. Only the minimum necessary information is disclosed to accomplish the intended purpose of the use, or request. It is the City’s responsibility in our policy and procedures to identify the classes of persons who need access to your information to carry out their job duties. Categories of Information that we collect: We collect non-public information about you from the following sources: · Primarily, we collect information directly from you. · Information that we receive from you on applications and other forms. · Information about your transactions with affiliates, others, or us. · Information about your health benefits from our claims administrators and pharmacy benefits manager, which helps us manage your benefits, provide appropriate education, and allows us to direct wellness and preventions programs. · Information you provide us when questioning your transaction with other entities. The minimum necessary information is only used for each function as required by law. Categories or parties to whom we may disclose information: · We may disclose information, in addition to the categories below, that has been provided by the employee with their authorization. · We may disclose non-public personal financial information about you to our affiliates. · We may also disclose non-public personal information about you to non affiliated third parties, such as our benefits administrators, pharmacy benefits manager, and for re-insurance purposes, as permitted by law. · We may also disclose non-public personal information about you to national, state, and local law enforcement agencies, as requested and permitted by law. Accounting for non PTO disclosures: It is the policy of the City that an accounting of all disclosures of protected health information, other than information with regard to payment of claims, treatment, and health care operations, is provided whenever such an accounting is requested.

Accuracy and access of your non-public personal information that we process: We strive to maintain the accuracy of you information. In order to help us maintain accuracy, you have the right to reasonable access your information. If you believe any of your information in our possession is inaccurate the individual may request in writing that we amend, correct or delete the information that you believe to be erroneous. If we concur with your conclusion, we will amend, correct or delete the information in question. If not, you may submit a short statement of dispute, which will be included in any future disclosure of your information. Only the person or legal guardian of the non-public information in question may request access and change to their PHI. Any corrected information will be given to any organization with which the corrected information has been shared. Access to Protected Health Information (PHI) by the subject individual: It is the policy of the City that access to PHI must be granted only to the person who is the subject of such information when such access is requested. Changes to our notice of privacy and insurance information practices: We reserve the right to change our privacy policies and insurance information practices. If we make any changes to our policies or practices, we will provide you with a copy of a revised notice as required by applicable law. Restriction Requests: You have the right to request a restriction on the uses and disclosures of your PHI. It is the policy of the City that serious consideration be given to all such requests. It is also our policy that once a particular restriction is agreed to, that the City is bound by that restriction. Vendors and the sharing of information: The transfer of PHI and other personally identifiable information between us and our health plan vendors, who are called “Business Associates”, is allowed in order to provide services. Therefore, the release of this information from you to our claims administrator is allowed as well as to the vendors we use on your behalf. Some examples are: prescription distribution vendors, re-insurance carriers, utilization management vendors, and mental health vendors. Business Associates, such as Healthcare Sarasota, our Claims Administrator, Pharmacy Benefits Manager, and EAP services, are held to the same HIPAA Privacy rules as the employer, and they must continue to respect the privacy of your PHI even if our formal relationship ends. They must only allow your PHI to be seen “on a need to know basis” and then only the minimum necessary information for them to complete their job duties. Vendor Security: Our vendors diligently maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards and strive to comply with applicable federal standards that guard your private

personal information. They use manual and electronic security procedures to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of personally identifiable information in their possession and guard against its unauthorized access. Vendors limit employee and third-party access to information only to those who have a business or professional reason for access. For example, they may share the minimum necessary information with insurance carriers and other third-parties in order to obtain proposals on our behalf and to administrate your health benefits. The categories of non-public personal information that Healthcare Sarasota and the claims administrator collect from a third-party depend upon the scope of the third-party engagement. It will include information about your health to the extent that it is needed for the underwriting process, information about your transactions between you and healthcare providers and other third parties, and information from consumer reporting agencies. Verification of Identity: It is the policy of the City that the identity of all persons who request access to protected health information be certified before such access is granted. Privacy Officer: It is the policy of the City that the responsibility for designing and implementing procedures to implement this policy lies with the Chief Privacy Officer. Any complaint with regard to the protection of your information should be in writing and sent to the Privacy Officer. All complaints will be resolved in a timely manner. Oversight Organizations: It is the policy of the City that oversight agencies such as the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services be given full support and cooperation in their efforts to ensure the protection of health information within this organization. It is also our policy that all personnel cooperate fully with all privacy compliance reviews and investigations. Federal, State and other laws: Federal and state regulations may also review our records as permitted under law. Please note that you may have other additional rights under applicable laws, such as State privacy regulations, ADA, FMLA, and Workers’ Compensation. If you would like to discuss the confidentiality and privacy of your non-public personal information in detail, the dispute of benefit claims, or if ever you have any concerns, please feel free to contact our Privacy Officer at: City of Sarasota 1565 First Street Sarasota FL 34236 941-954-4138

Please rest assured that your personal non-public information will be kept in the strictest confidence. Your information will also be kept in the strictest confidence if you are no longer employed with the City of Sarasota. Again, please notify the City’s Privacy Officer if you have any questions or need further information regarding this notice.