WCIF Privacy Policy

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) took effect on June 1, 1997. This federal mandate establishes rules regarding portability of coverage, applicability and length of pre-existing condition exclusions, non-discrimination in access to coverage, guaranteed renewal of coverage, and how to handle protected health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information.

Washington Counties Insurance Fund follows HIPAA procedures to protect the personal and health information collected about its members. This includes written, verbal, and electronic information.

You can find more information on HIPAA at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights website >

Notices of Privacy Practices

Click here for the WCIF Notice of Privacy Practices >

Carriers associated with WCIF each have respective privacy practices available on their websites. For links to affiliated carrier websites please view WCIF plan contacts >

Release of Privacy Information

If a member requires WCIF to release PHI to someone (a relative, employer, representative, friend, etc.) a HIPAA Authorization of Release Form must be completed and signed. The authorization must specifically identify the PHI which may be disclosed and must list the intended recipient of the PHI.

WCIF Web Data Privacy

WCIF does not collect any personal information from web visitors. Ongoing logs of IP addresses, browser types, and areas of visitors are stored via the web server solely for the purposes of tracking this site's effectiveness and enhancing user experience.