Privacy Policy

The information is used to carry out services our customers (individual members and plan sponsors) have contracted us to provide, including

• determining eligibility for coverage,
• verifying, assessing and paying claims, and
• conducting audits of claims and provider practices to ensure appropriate plan usage.

Your personal information and the personal information of all eligible dependents is collected from you or your employer as part of the enrolment process. It will also be collected from you, your dependents or the service provider when a claim is made for a service received.

The consent statement on the Alberta Blue Cross^® application or claim form acknowledges the purposes for which the personal information is needed and allows the information to be used and disclosed for those purposes. It also acknowledges that the member whose name the plan coverage is registered under has the authorization of their spouse and/or other adult dependents to submit and receive their personal information for the purposes listed.

When you or your dependents present an Alberta Blue Cross^® ID card to a health service provider, you are giving consent to the provider and Alberta Blue Cross^® to use your personal information to administer the benefit plan as described in the Alberta Blue Cross^® Privacy Policy.

It is your right to refuse to give any personal information. However, Alberta Blue Cross^® requires some personal information to provide specific services, such as paying your claims. As a condition for providing these products and services, we require you to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of information required to fulfill specified purposes in administering your plan. Consent may be withdrawn at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions. We will inform you of any withdrawal implications including loss of coverage or denial of coverage or claims.

With the consent we have gathered, your personal information may be shared with an outside party such as a health service provider or other benefit carrier, solely to administer your benefit plan. This exchange is conducted with strict adherence to our Privacy Policy. Under those circumstances, we limit the disclosure of information to what is necessary for the purposes identified.

No. Alberta Blue Cross^® does not provide individually identifiable information to employers or employer group administration personnel, except with the explicit consent of the plan member.

No. Alberta Blue Cross^® does not sell personal information or customer lists to other companies regardless of their intentions.

We have numerous industry best-practices to physically and electronically protect the personal information in our custody against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification of data.

Only designated Alberta Blue Cross^® employees have access to your information and only to perform the duties required to administer your benefit plan. Anyone carrying out work for Alberta Blue Cross^® is required to sign a confidentiality agreement on an annual basis, receive privacy and security training and comply with specific privacy procedures.

Alberta Blue Cross^® disposes of personal information in a secure manner when it is no longer required for the purposes identified in your consent.

Yes, but only with the appropriate consent. As the plan member (the person in whose name the coverage is registered), you are expected to inform your spouse and all other adult dependents covered on your plan that you are submitting and receiving personal information on their behalf. For example, in certain circumstances, you will receive a benefit statement that lists information about the service or product that has been claimed, date of service, quantity (if applicable) and claimed and paid amount.

If you require more information than has been reported to you regarding a claim for your spouse or another adult dependent on your plan, you must provide Alberta Blue Cross^® with the written consent of the individual who is the subject of the information. Use the Consent to Disclose Personal Health Information form found on our website. If you, the requestor, have been granted the appropriate legal authority to act on behalf of the person through, a personal directive, power of attorney (with appropriate reference to receiving personal health information) or court order issued under the Dependant Adult Act, contact our Customer Services department for the appropriate consent form to be submitted.

With written consent or the required proof of legal authority (if they are unable to act on their own behalf), you can receive benefit and claims information about an individual not covered on your plan. Use the Consent to Disclose Personal Health Information form found on our website if the person is able to sign the consent themselves, or contact our Customer Services department if you have been granted the appropriate legal authority to act on behalf of that person.

Upon request, Alberta Blue Cross^® will inform you of the existence, use and disclosure of your personal information and will provide access to it within a reasonable amount of time.

We endeavor to keep personal information as complete, accurate and current as is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected. An individual can question the accuracy and completeness of his or her information and arrange to have it amended.