Privacy Information

Privacy Practices

MCNA Safeguards Your Information

MCNA takes pride in the fact that we are a leader in the industry. One of our strengths is our ability to administer dental plans effectively while keeping our members' protected health information safe. We commit to complying with the requirements and standards of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). We show our commitment through our actions.

MCNA has policies and procedures to comply with the provisions of HIPAA. We conduct employee training in relation to HIPAA requirements to ensure those policies and procedures are in use. We conduct this training at least once a year.

Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes how health information about you may be used and disclosed. It also tells you how you can get access to this information. Please read it carefully. The privacy of your health information is important to us.

This notice took effect 04/14/03. These privacy practices have been updated effective June 2018. They will remain in effect until they are changed. This notice applies to all MCNA dental programs that Managed Care of North America, Inc. and MCNA Insurance Company manages.

What is MCNA's legal duty for the notice of privacy practices?

The law says MCNA has to keep your health information private. We have to give you this notice about our privacy practices and our legal duties. This notice also tells your about your rights. We must follow the privacy practices that are in this notice. We are allowed to change the notice if we need to do so. The new notice would apply to all health information we keep. If this happens, the new notice will be posted on our website. You can also ask us to send a copy to you via email or regular mail. The changes must be within the law. The changes may apply to all the old and new health information we have. We will change this notice before we change our privacy practices.

What is personal health information?

Personal health information includes both medical information and individually identifiable information. This can be things about you like your name, address, telephone number, or Social Security number. This information is created or received by a healthcare provider or health plan that relates to your physical or mental health or condition or providing healthcare to you. It also could relate to the payment for such healthcare. We protect this information in all formats. This includes electronic, written, and oral information.

How do we protect your information?

We are responsible for protecting the privacy of your information. Federal and state laws and our own policy guide us on how to do this. We have safeguards in place to protect your information in many ways. These safeguards guide us to:

  • Limit who may see your information and how we use or disclose your information.

  • Inform you of our legal duties about your information.

  • Train our employees and associates about our privacy policies and procedures.

What rights do I have when it comes to my health information?

Below are your rights under the privacy rule. You have the right to:

  • Get a copy of your health and claims records. You can ask to see or get a copy of your health and claims records. You also can ask for other health information we have about you. We will tell you how to do this. We will give you a copy or a summary of your health and claims records. We try to provide this within 30 days of your request. We may charge a cost-based fee.

  • Ask us to correct or amend health and claims records. You can ask us to correct your health and claims records if you think they are not correct or not complete. We may deny your request if we did not create the information, or if we do not maintain the information. We may also deny your request if the information is correct and complete. We will tell you why we have denied your request in writing within 60 days.

  • Request private communications. You can ask us to contact you in a specific way. This could be a home or office phone. You also can ask us to send mail to a different address. You can ask for this to avoid a life-threatening situation. We will consider all reasonable requests. We must say "yes" if you tell us you would be in danger if we did not.

  • Ask us to limit or restrict what we use or share. You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We do not have to agree to your request. We may say "no" if it would affect your care. You also have the right to agree to or stop a request that you have already sent to us.

  • Get a list of those with whom we've shared information. You can ask for a list or account of the times we've shared your health information. Your request can cover up to six years prior to the date you ask. It can include who we shared it with and why. We will include all the disclosures except those about treatment, payment, and health care operations. We may also leave out certain other disclosures such as any you asked us to make. We'll provide one accounting a year for free. We will charge a reasonable fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

  • Get a copy of this privacy notice. You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time. You can ask for this even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will send you a paper copy as soon as we can.

  • Choose someone to act for you. If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person has the right to make choices about your health information. We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

  • Tell us to share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in payment for your care. There may be a reason why you are not able to tell us to share your information. We may go ahead and share your information. We will do this only when we believe it is in your best interest.

How can MCNA use or share my health information?

We are allowed to share your information in other ways. Sometimes we are required to do this. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information. We will never share your information for marketing purposes. We will never sell your protected health information. We will never share most uses and disclosure of psychotherapy notes unless you give us written permission. We may use or share your information for the reasons below.

  • Help with public health and safety issues. We can share health information about you in certain situations. We may share information to prevent disease; help with product recalls; report adverse reactions to medicines; report suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence; or prevent or reduce a real threat to anyone's health or safety.

  • Do research. We can use or share your information for health research.

  • Comply with the law. We will share information about you if you state or federal laws require it. This includes sharing it with the Department of Health and Human Services. They may want to check that we comply with federal privacy law.

  • Address workers' compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests. We can use or share health information about you for workers' compensation claims; for law enforcement reasons or with a law enforcement official; with health oversight agencies for actions allowed by law; for special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services.

  • Respond to lawsuits and legal actions. We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We also can share it in response to a subpoena.

  • Assist in disaster relief efforts. We can share your information in a disaster relief situation. If we cannot reach you during a disaster, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest.

  • Contact you with information about health-related benefits and services and appointment reminders. We may contact you about treatment choices that may be of interest to you. We will only contact you if you have not opted out as described below.

  • Share your information with your plan sponsor to permit them to perform plan administration functions. These functions include eligibility, enrollment, and disenrollment activities. We will not share detailed health information with your plan sponsor unless you tell us we can. We will not share your information with your plan sponsor unless they have certified they agree to maintain the privacy of your information.

  • Disclose your health information to a coroner or medical examiner. We may also disclose medical information to funeral homes under applicable law to carry out their duties.

What are MCNA's responsibilities regarding my health information?

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information. We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may threaten the privacy or security of your information. We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice. We must give you a copy of it when you ask for one. We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

What types of communications from MCNA can I opt out of?

You can opt out of:

  • Appointment reminders

  • Treatment choices or other health-related benefits or services

  • Fundraising activities

What do we do with your information when you are no longer a member or you do not obtain coverage through us?

Your information may continue to be used for purposes described in this notice when your enrollment with MCNA ends or you do not obtain coverage through us. We are required by law to maintain your information in our records for a certain amount of time. After that time period has passed, we destroy the information using strict procedures to keep it private and secure.

How do I exercise my rights? What should I do if I believe my privacy has been violated?

If you want to exercise your rights or if you believe your privacy has been violated in any way, you may file a complaint with us by:

  • Calling our toll-free Member Hotline at any time

  • Emailing us your request or complaint at compliance_reporting@mcna.net

  • Sending your request in writing to: MCNA Dental, Attention: Privacy Officer, P.O. Box 740370, Atlanta, GA 30374-0370

You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by:

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. You may also download this Notice of Privacy Practices.

Sharing Your Information

As an MCNA member, you can choose to share your information with third parties. You can allow or deny sharing through the MCNA Member Portal. A full list of all third-party applications that MCNA supports can be found in our Member Portal. Please create or log in to your account to view it.

Application Developers: If you are a developer for a third-party application, you must register your application with MCNA. Please review our Third-Party Access details for API connection instructions.

Internet Privacy Statement

MCNA Protects Your Privacy

MCNA respects your concern for privacy when you visit our website. We are responsible for keeping the personal information we collect from you safe and secure. This statement only covers information that we collect from you through this website. You may receive other privacy notices at times from MCNA or its partners that tell you about to the privacy of personal information. Such notices may apply as well to the information that we collect through our website.

This Privacy Policy governs your access and use of all MCNA websites ("Sites") and services. This includes the MCNA Provider Portal and Member Portal ("Services") offered on those websites. This Privacy Policy is to be read along with any other agreement you may have with MCNA. If there is a conflict, the Terms of Use agreement will control.

Please read this Internet Privacy Statement carefully. Use it to understand our online privacy practices. You agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy when you access any of MCNA's sites. Please contact us if you have questions about this Internet Privacy Statement or our privacy policies.

Types of Information We Collect

We will not disclose any non-public personal information that we collect about our customers or former customers except as allowed or required by law. We describe more about this below.

  • Personal Information: MCNA may collect personal information about you. We use it to give you information, products, and services through our website. This personal information may include your name, address, and Social Security number. It may include financial information that you choose to give us. We may also collect non-personal information about how you move through the website.

  • User Submitted Data: MCNA may also collect User Submitted Data. This data is any information you submit to MCNA through any of our Sites. It may include personal information and your contact information. We call all of this data combined "User Submitted Data." We store User Submitted Data when you register to use our Sites and use Services on our websites. We also store it when you complete a form or email us. We may use this information to contact you.

  • Cookies: MCNA may use your IP address to help detect problems with our server. We may use it to manage our Sites. We may also use other tools like cookies to gather non-personal website usage information. Cookies are small pieces of data. They are stored by your web browser on your computer's hard drive. Cookies provide a unique ID tied to your web browser. This data may be used to improve our Sites and Services. Most web browsers accept cookies without letting you know. You can choose to change your browser settings to prevent the use of cookies. Some portions of our website may not work for you if you choose to set your web browser to block the use of cookies.

  • Aggregate Data/User Analytics: MCNA may produce and store aggregate data from large pools of users. We do this to help improve our Services. The combined data does not contain any personal information. It can provide us with useful information such as hits to the server and page views. We use this to help improve MCNA's Sites and Services.

  • Agents: MCNA employs vendors to perform services on our behalf. Such services may include IT infrastructure and hosting our Sites and/or Services. It also may include sending postal mail and email. We may share your personal information and User Submitted Data with these vendors. The vendors have agreed to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the personal information they obtain. Your personal information is not sold to them.

  • Other Companies: MCNA reserves the right to share your personal information and any User Submitted Data with our parent or sister companies.

Security and Confidentiality

Our Sites have security measures in place to protect the information under our control. Our Sites use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to send private documents over the Internet. SSL works by using a private key to encrypt data that is sent over the SSL connection. Many websites use this method to obtain private user information like credit card numbers.

MCNA also uses a firewall to prevent access that is not approved. All messages that enter or leave our Sites pass through the firewall. The firewall reviews each of them and blocks those that do not meet the defined security criteria. We take steps to protect our Sites, but no security system is foolproof. We cannot promise the security of our database. We cannot promise that information you supply won't be captured while being sent to us over the Internet. MCNA shall promptly notify any Service Providers or Healthcare Organizations that may be affected in the event of a data breach. We will cooperate with such organizations and law enforcement to investigate and resolve the data breach.

When you sign up to use one of MCNA's online portals (for example, Provider Portal or Member Portal), you will create a username and password. Your username and password is your private key to access your account. You should never share your username and password with anyone. This will help to maintain the privacy and security of your account.

Links to Other Websites

MCNA may provide you with links to other websites. You may be subject to different Internet privacy policies if you click on a link and leave our website. We have no control over and are not responsible for these privacy policies. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of the website to which you link before you submit any personal information.

Changes to this Internet Privacy Statement

This Internet Privacy Statement went into effect on January 1, 2005. We may change this Internet Privacy Statement at any time and without notice. This Internet Privacy Statement is intended to inform you about MCNA's privacy and security policies. It does not create a contract or other legal rights in or on behalf of any party. You waive all rights to file complaints about email from MCNA when you provide information to our Sites and Services. You agreed to such communication by providing your information to MCNA. You may choose to unsubscribe from certain communications by telling MCNA about your request.