Privacy Policy

1. Our Commitment

Medicare Plus Inc. recognizes the value of every member, every patient, and every person, in the conduct of its business. As a company operating across the entire Philippines, we adhere to the provisions of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 of the Philippines and the directives of the National Privacy Commission.

2. Introduction to this Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement describes Medicare’s policies and practices regarding the collection and use of personal information provided by our users or collected by us on the sites and applications where this Privacy Statement is posted whether on our digital properties or on applications we make available on third-party sites or platforms.

3. Data Privacy Officer and Enforcement of your Rights

Medicare Plus Inc. is a Philippine based entity, with a registered Data Privacy Officer responsible for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your personal information. If you have privacy concerns or if you wish to enforce your rights to be informed, to object, to access, to correct, to erasure, to complain, or to data portability, please direct your query to Medicare Plus’ DPO as follows:

ARVIN A. MACEDA
34F Orient Square, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, San Antonio, Pasig City
National Capital Region (NCR) 1600 Philippines
09088158780 | dpo@medicareplus.com.ph

4. What We collect and how we collect them

Medicare Plus Inc. collects various types of information so we can provide you the best and the most efficient service possible in the market. The following describes the information we collect according to source.

  1. From You as a member/guest

    a.Platform registration information you provide when registering through our platforms such as our website, inquiry in our official social media accounts, FastCare mobile application, ER Guard or ER Guard plus activation,

    b. Transaction information you provide when you request information, contact us through various platforms, purchase, request a service from us, such as your postal address, telephone or mobile number and email;

    c. Reimbursement information you provide when you request for reimbursements covered by your plan such as your name, official receipts, medical record and bank details for payment;

    d. Visitor information you provide when you visit our office premises or clinics.

  1. From Third Parties

    a.
     Membership Registration information your Principal provides (typically this information is from your employer or insurance provider). This information is limited to your name, age, gender/sex, employment rank and tenure, contact details such as email and mobile number;

    b. Activity information about your use, and the use by any person(s) you authorize through your account (for instance, our member’s portal, if available to you), of our services, and your preferences;

    c. Location information including precise or approximate location information provided by a mobile or other device interacting with one of our sites, applications, or physical properties (including through beacon technologies), or associated with your IP address or other online or device identifier, where we are permitted by law to process this information.

  1. From Accredited Facilities

    a.
    Your utilization related information generated whenever you use our services through our accredited network of facilities such as hospitals. This includes your medical information pertaining to your availments, including diagnosis, medical abstract and procedures undertaken.

  1. Other sources

    a.
    Pictures or videos captured through our platforms and/or CCTV Cameras installed within our premises;

    b. Call recordings when you call our hotlines;

    c. Usage, viewing, technical, and device data when you visit our sites, use our applications on third-party or platforms, or open emails we send, or connect with our wireless internet access services and other similar technologies, including your browser or device type, unique device identifier, and IP address;

    d. Public Forum information posted about us by you made available to all.

5. Purposes

In general, Medicare Plus Inc. processes your data to provide you with services you have requested or purchased from us, including membership and contact center services, events, publications and other content, we use this information to refine services to better tailor them to your needs and to communicate with you about other services Medicare Plus offers. Most of the time, Medicare Plus needs to process your personal data to fulfill our role as your provider of membership services, with all the attendant benefits Medicare Plus provides. Sometimes, Medicare Plus has a legitimate interest in processing data to better understand the needs, concerns, and interests our members and other customers so that they can operate optimally as a business. And sometimes, Medicare Plus relies upon your consent, in which case we will keep a record of it and honor your choices.

  1. HMO/TPA Membership Administration for Members
    Medicare Plus Inc. processes your personal information for HMO/TPA membership administration, to deliver member benefits to you and your plan sponsor, such as processing your reimbursement requests; intermediating in the administration of medical care; liaising with third party specialist doctors, clinics, hospitals, and/or medical institutions in relation to your medical care (including by events, content, and other benefits or opportunities associated with your membership. Medicare plus Inc. may also use this information for us to personalize your experience at our touchpoints and for us to conduct market research by understanding and analyzing customer behavior, location, preferences, and demographics in order to improve our services.

    Medicare Plus Inc. relies on fulfillment of contract as the lawful basis under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 for processing members’ personal information.

  2. Utilization Records for Members

    We collect your availment information from our accredited network of facilities as part of our contractual arrangement with them. The purposes for collecting this information include the following:

    a. To verify if the person who availed our HMO services is a bona fide member.
    b. To support our payments to facilities and/or physicians you chose to provide the required medical services covered by your plan.
    c. To determine if you have exceeded your plan limitations, i.e. Maximum benefit limit
    d. To create a record of your availments as part of our actuarial practices
    e. For actuarial (pricing) purposes.

    Medicare Plus relies on fulfillment of contract as the lawful basis under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 for processing members’ personal information

  3. Other Business and Legal Purposes

    We may also collect, use, and/or disclose your personal data for purposes connected or relevant to our business for us to comply with our legal obligations and requirements; enforce obligations owed to us and administering debt recovery and debt management; prevent, detect, and investigate crime; analyze and manage commercial risks; maintain our accounting books for record keeping; conduct any form of investigation relating to disputes, billing, fraud, offenses or prosecutions, among others; and meeting or complying with any applicable rules, laws, regulations, codes or practice or guidelines issued by any legal or regulatory bodies which are binding on us (including but not limited to responding to regulatory complaints, disclosing to regulatory bodies, and conducting audit checks, due diligence and investigations).

  4.  Events

    Medicare plus hosts live, in-person or online events throughout the year. These include wellness conferences and other activities.

    Medicare Plus uses the information provided by event attendees to provide them with event services, including badge printing, tailoring sessions to meet the audience profile and to determine the sessions likely to require the biggest rooms, and related purposes connected with the event.

    If you are a presenter at one of our events, we will collect information about you including your name, employer, and contact information, and photograph, and we may also collect information provided by event attendees who evaluated your performance as a presenter. We may also make and store a recording of your voice and likeness in certain instances.

    Medicare Plus relies on a legitimate interest basis for collecting, storing and processing this information.

    We keep a record of your participation in Medicare Plus events as an attendee or presenter. This information may be used to provide you with membership services or to tell you about other events and publication. It may also be used to help Medicare Plus understand our members’ needs and interests to better tailor our products and services to meet your needs.

  5. Your correspondence with us

    If you correspond with us by email, the postal service, or other form of communication, we may retain such correspondence and the information contained in it and use it to respond to your inquiry; to notify you our other services; or to keep a record of your complaint, request, or similar concern. Note, Medicare Plus has a legitimate interest in maintaining personal information of those who communicate voluntarily with us.

6. Use of our Websites and Platforms

  1. Websites

    As is true of most other websites, Medicare Plus’ website collects certain information automatically and it stores it in log files. The information may include internet protocol (IP) addresses, the region or general location where your computer or device is accessing the internet, browser type, operating system, and other usage information about the use of our website, including a history of the pages you view. We use this information to help us design our site to better suit our users’ needs. We may also use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our website, analyze trends, track visitor movements, and gather broad demographic information that assists us in identifying visitor preferences.

    a. Cookies

    Our websites may make use of “cookies” to store and track information such as the number of users and their frequency of use, profiles of users, and their online preferences. Cookies do not capture information that would personally identify you, but the information collected may be used to assist us in analyzing the usage of our websites and to improve your online experience with us. You can disable the cookies by changing the setting on your browser. However, this may affect the functionality of our websites.

    b. External Links

     Our websites may also contain links to other websites that are not owned or maintained by us and over which we have no control. These links are provided only for your convenience. This Privacy Statement only applies to our website. When visiting these third-party websites, you should read their privacy policies.

7. When and how we share information with others

  1. General

    We do not otherwise reveal your personal data persons or businesses outside Medicare Plus for their independent use unless:

    a. You request or authorize it;
    b. The information is provided to comply with the law (for example, to comply with a search warrant, subpoena, or court order)
    c. Enforce an agreement we have with you, or to protect our rights, property or safety, or the rights, property or safety of our employees of others;
    d. The information is provided to our agents, vendors or service providers who perform functions on our behalf;
    e. To address emergencies or acts of God; or
    f. To address disputes, claims, or to persons demonstrating legal authority to act on your behalf;

  2. Aggregated Information

    We may also gather aggregated data about our members and Site visitors and disclose the results of such aggregated (but not personally identifiable) information to our partners, services providers, advertisers, and/or other third parties for actuarial, marketing, or promotional purposes.

  3.  On Utilization Record Generated

    The following shall be provided access to your utilization record, subject to compliance with the requirements of the Data Privacy Act 2012:

    a. Your employer. Your employer routinely requests utilization report of all its employees covered by the Health Plan we provide. Said report contains the amount of utilization, treatment, and diagnosis. We only grant access should there be (a) warranty from your employer’s end that your consent has been provided, in which case, we will solely rely on that representation, OR (b) where you have explicitly consented to the same.

    b. Your Spouse/Partner/Immediate Family Member. Only when it is necessary to protect your life as a patient.

    c. The Principal Member. Whenever you are a dependent-minor or a dependent under guardianship, the principal shall be given access to your utilization record, upon request. For all other cases, we will only disclose should you, the dependent, provide authorization allowing the principal member to have access to your records.

    d. Government/the Courts/regulatory agencies. Only when required by law and/or to protect our legitimate interests.

8. Data subject rights

The Data Privacy Act of 2012 provides certain rights for data subjects. A good explanation of them (in English) is available on the website of the Philippine National Privacy Commission Website (https://www.privacy.gov.ph/know-your-rights/)

This Privacy Statement is intended to provide you with information about what personal data Medicare Plus collects about you and how it is used. If you have any questions, please contact us at dpo@medicareplus.com.ph

If you wish to confirm Medicare Plus is processing your personal data, or to have access to the personal data Medicare Plus may have about you, please contact us at dpo@medicareplus.com.ph

You may also request information about: the purpose of the processing; the categories of personal data concerned; who else outside Medicare Plus might have received the data from us; what the source of the information was (if you didn’t provide it directly to Medicare Plus); and how long it will be stored.

You have a right to correct (rectify) the record of your personal data maintained by Medicare Plus if it is inaccurate. You may request that Medicare Plus erase that data or cease processing it, subject to certain exceptions. You may also request that Medicare Plus cease using your data for direct marketing purposes, if initially you have provided your consent.

You also have a right to lodge a complaint with the appropriate data protection authority if you have concerns about how Medicare Plus processes your personal data. When technically feasible, Medicare Plus will – at your request – provide your personal data to you or transmit it directly to another controller.

Reasonable access to your personal data will be provided at no cost to you if you are a member, conference attendees and others upon request made to Medicare Plus at dpo@medicareplus.com.ph. If the access is denied for some reason, Medicare will provide an explanation as to why access has been denied.

For questions or complaints concerning the processing of your personal data, you can email the Medicare Plus’ DPO at dpo@medicareplus.com.ph

9. Security of your information

To help protect the privacy, security, integrity, and confidentiality of your personal data, we maintain physical, technical, and administrative safeguards. We review, update and test our security procedures on an ongoing basis. We restrict access to your personal data to those employees who need to know that information to provide benefits or services to you. In addition, we train our employees about the importance of confidentiality and maintaining the privacy and security of your information. We commit to taking appropriate disciplinary measures to enforce our employees’ privacy responsibilities.

While best practice precautions will be taken to ensure that the information you provide is protected against unauthorized or unintended access that is beyond our control.

10. Data storage and retention

The personal data collected from you by us is retained for the period of time that the purpose for which the personal data was collected continues. Please refer to the table below regarding the Data Retention Schedule specifying the prescribed periods of retention depending on the classification of documents:

No.

Category

Retention Period

Basis

1

Medical Records

15 years

A.O 2020-0030 (Data Privacy Guidelines on the Processing of Health Information)

2

Human Resource

3 years from last entry

Labor Code

3

Finance

5 years for physical , 10 for electronic

BIR RR No. 77-2013

4

Legal

10 years

Prescriptive Period under the Civil Code

5

Others

5 years

Company Policy

11. Questions, concerns or complaints

If you have questions, concerns, complaints, or would like to exercise your rights, please contact the Medicare Plus’ DPO:

ARVIN A. MACEDA
34F Orient Square, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, San Antonio, Pasig City,
National Capital Region (NCR) 1600 Philippines
09088158780 | arvinmaceda@medicareplus.com.ph

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