Group Insurance Commission's Website Privacy Policy

Welcome to the Group Insurance Commission's website. Your privacy is one of our top priorities. The following policy applies only to the use of the Group Insurance Commission's website. Other websites have different policies. We strongly suggest that you read the privacy policies for each website that you visit through a link appearing at this site, because you are subject to the privacy policies of those sites, over which the Group Insurance Commission has no control.

A Privacy Partnership: Your privacy with respect to the use of this website results from a partnership between the Group Insurance Commission and you, the user. At this website, we attempt to protect your privacy to the maximum extent possible. However, because some of the information that we receive through this Web site is subject to the Public Records Law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 66, section 10, we cannot ensure absolute privacy. Information that you provide to us through this site may be made available to members of the public under that law. This policy informs you of the information that we collect from you at this site, what we do with it, to whom it may be disseminated, and how you can access it. Based on this information, you can make an informed choice about your use of this site. You can maximize the benefits of your privacy partnership with the Commonwealth by making informed choices about whether to share personally identifiable information with us through this site.

Personally Identifiable Information: We use the term "personally identifiable information" to mean any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, e-mail address, Social Security number, birth date, or any combination of information that could used to identify you.

Information Voluntarily Provided by You: This site collects voluntary information from you only through the e-mails that you send through this site. E-mails sent by you to this site will contain personally identifiable information.

Information Automatically Collected and Stored by this Site: This site does not collect "cookies", but the Commonwealth does collect and store indefinitely your Internet Protocol ("IP") address, which does not identify you as an individual, as well as information about the date and time of your visit, whether a file you have requested exists, and how many "bytes" of information were transmitted to you over the Web from this site. The Commonwealth uses your IP address to assess the frequency of visits to sites and the popularity of its various pages and functions. We will not attempt to match any personally identifiable information that you provide to us with your IP address, unless there are reasonably grounds to believe that doing so would provide information that is relevant and material to a criminal investigation.

Dissemination of Your Personally Identifiable Information: We do not sell any personally identifiable information. However, once you voluntarily submit personally identifiable information to us through an e-mail, its dissemination is governed by Massachusetts' Public Records Law, the Fair Information Practices Act, and Executive Order 412, and other applicable laws and regulations. For this reason, part or all of the information you send us may be provided to a member of the public in response to a public records request. The Public Records Law and the Fair Information Practices Act provide you certain rights to get information about you that is in our records. To learn more about the circumstances under which you can get and correct this information, please click on the above references to these laws.
In addition, the information that you voluntarily submit will be disclosed only to Commonwealth employees or officials with a "need to know" for purposes of fulfilling their job responsibilities. They will only use the information to answer your questions, respond to any requests for assistance, and fulfill the Commonwealth's legal obligations. Where appropriate, we may provide the information submitted by you to the person or company that is the subject of your inquiry, or to a government agency responsible for the matters referred to in your communication.

Security: Because this site does not encrypt incoming e-mail, you should not send through this website information that you consider to be highly sensitive. The Commonwealth uses software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. We use standard security measures to ensure that your personally identifiable information is not lost, misused, altered or intentionally destroyed. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no attempts are made by the Commonwealth or the Group Insurance Commission to identify individual users or their usage habits.

Special Protections Against Misuse of Personally Identifiable Information Within Commonwealth Offices: Executive Order 412, which enhances the protection given to any information about you as a named individual held by the Executive branch of state government, limits the collection and dissemination of personally identifiable information with the Executive Branch. This site complies with Executive Order 412, so all of the personally identifiable information that you submit to this site is given the privacy protections set forth in Executive Order 412.

Policy changes: We will post changes to this policy at least 30 days before they take effect. Any information we collect under the current privacy policy will remain subject to the terms of this policy. After any changes take effect, all new information we collect, if any, will be subject to the new policy.

Contact Information: For questions about your privacy while using this website, please contact the GIC's System's Director at 617/727-2310.

Cookies are files that a website can place on your computer. A cookie file contains unique information that a website can use to track such things as your password, lists of web pages you have visited, and the date when you last looked at a specific Web page, or to identify your session at a particular website. A cookie file allows the Web site to recognize you as you click through pages on the site and when you later revisit the site. A website can use cookies to "remember" your preferences, and to record your browsing behavior on the Web. Although you can prevent websites from placing cookies on your computer by using your browser's preference menu, disabling cookies may affect your ability to view or interact with some websites.

An "Internet Protocol Address" or "IP Address" is a series of numbers that identifies each computer and machine connected to the Internet. An IP address enables a server on a computer network to send you the file that you have requested on the Internet. The IP address disclosed to us may identify the computer from which you are accessing the Internet, or a server owned by your Internet Service Provider. Because it is machine-specific, rather than person-specific, an IP address is not, in and of itself, personally identifiable information.

HIPAA Privacy Forms

Items marked as require Acrobat Reader

Forms and notices are also available through the GIC.

HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices: Comprehensive list of GIC enrollee privacy rights.

Amendment Request Form: For asking the GIC to amend erroneous or incomplete protected health information created and maintained by the GIC.

Confidential Communication Form: For personal safety reasons, form to request alternative GIC communication delivery.

Request to Inspect and Copy Form: For requesting a copy of protected health information created and maintained by the GIC.

Privacy Complaint Form: For lodging a complaint with the GIC on how the GIC handled your protected health information.

Accounting of Protected Health Information Disclosure Form: For requesting an accounting of the GIC's disclosures of protected health information on or after April 14, 2003.

Authorization Form For Release of Health Information: For authorizing GIC representatives to disclose or receive your protected health information with persons you designate.

Request to Restrict Access Form: For requesting to restrict the GIC's use or disclosure of protected health information.