Notice of Privacy Practices

This summary describes how medical information about you may be used and shared with others. It also explains how you can get this information. Please read carefully. For more details, view the complete notice of privacy practices (PDF) or the Spanish complete notice of privacy practices (PDF).

First Choice VIP Care Plus (Medicare-Medicaid Plan) is required by law to protect the privacy of your health information. First Choice VIP Care Plus would like to tell you its policies about your protected health information (PHI). Health care providers use members' medical information during treatment and during payment processing with us.

First Choice VIP Care Plus has to use and disclose your PHI to help you get your health care services and to pay our providers for giving you care. Many steps are taken to make sure this information is protected. First Choice VIP Care Plus is not allowed to use or share your medical information without you saying in writing that we can, except for these three reasons:

• Treatment of the patient
  Example: Health care providers talking about a patient's treatment.
• Making a payment
  Example: Our claims processing department using medical information to make payments to providers.
• Health care operations
  Example: Identifying members with certain chronic illnesses so we can send treatment information to them or their providers.

Some other examples of how First Choice VIP Care Plus may use or share your PHI include:

• Legal requirements
• Public health activities
• Reporting abuse
• Law enforcement
• Research
• Providing information to you
• Avoiding serious threat
• Providing information to family and friends

Sometimes we are required to get your permission so that we can use or share your PHI. Your permission letting us use or share your PHI may be canceled at any time. But we cannot stop the use or sharing of any information we used or shared before you canceled your permission.

You may get a copy of your PHI in our records. You may also get a description of some ways we use your PHI. For a copy of the full notice of privacy practices and/or for any questions or comments regarding PHI, please call Member Services at 1-888-978-0862 (TTY 711), 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., 7 days a week.

First Choice VIP Care Plus is a health plan that contracts with both Medicare and South Carolina Healthy Connections Medicaid to provide benefits of both programs to enrollees.

• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) release form (PDF).

This form will be used to confirm a member's permission that First Choice VIP Care Plus may discuss or disclose PHI to a particular person who acts as the member's personal representative.