MEMBER HANDBOOK OUT-OF-AREA Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Plan WELCOME! Welcome to KAISER PERMANENTE! Thank you for choosing Kaiser Permanente’s Out-of-Area Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Plan. This plan is designed for people who live outside our service area† and contiguous counties††, but work for an employer based in our service area. Out-of-Area PPO benefits are underwritten by the Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company (KPIC), a subsidiary of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. Kaiser Permanente’s Out-of-Area PPO Plan provides access to quality health care while at the same time giving you the freedom to choose your own providers and to help control your out-of-pocket costs. Kaiser Permanente makes it convenient for you to access medical care by giving you the information you need. This Member Handbook contains the following materials: • Information explaining how to locate a participating physician, obtain payment for claims, obtain prescription medication, and more. • The notice of privacy mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which explains how Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company collects, stores, protects, and shares the personal information of our members. You will soon receive a Certificate of Insurance and Schedule of Coverage from Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company, which explains the benefits and limitations under this product. This Member Handbook is an overview of your benefits—your Certificate of Insurance and Schedule of Coverage always take precedence over the Handbook. Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company sincerely welcomes your enrollment in our Out-of-Area PPO Plan. If you have any questions or need more information, please call Customer Relations, Monday through Thursday, 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, at 1-800-686-7100 or (216) 621-7100, or 1-877-676-6677 or (216) 635-4444 TTY. Or you can write to us at: Kaiser Permanente Customer Relations P.O. Box 5309 Cleveland, OH 44101 Once again, welcome to Kaiser Permanente. We look forward to a long and healthy relationship with you. † The service area includes the following Northeast Ohio counties: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, and Wayne. †† Contiguous counties include the following Northeast Ohio counties: Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Erie, Holmes, Huron, Mahoning, Trumbull, and Tuscarawas. Visit kp.org today! Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook | 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS GETTING CARE AND UTILIZING YOUR BENEFITS ...................................... 3 Participating providers ........................................................................... 3 Non-Participating providers .................................................................. 3 Emergency care ....................................................................................... 3 Claims payment........................................................................................ 4 Prescription coverage ............................................................................. 4 Precertification ......................................................................................... 5 Health information and education ........................................................ 5 PRIVACY NOTICE ........................................................................................... 6 2 | Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook GETTING CARE AND UTILIZING YOUR BENEFITS Getting Care And Utilizing Your Benefits PARTICIPATING PROVIDERS NON-PARTICIPATING PROVIDERS When you see participating providers, you enjoy a higher level of coverage and lower out-of-pocket costs. Here is how to locate a physician or hospital in your area: If you have an established relationship with a provider who is not one of our participating providers, your needs are still covered, but at a lower level of coverage. You have the option to receive medical care from any licensed provider. When you see non-participating providers, you will be responsible for meeting an annual deductible (for most services) and paying a percentage of charges (coinsurance). Payments are based upon the Maximum Allowable Charge (MAC) for covered services. When you seek services from nonparticipating providers, you are responsible for any charge that exceeds MAC. Within Ohio Call Emerald HealthSmart Network (EHN) 1-800-346-3141, M–F 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. or visit www.healthsmart.com Outside Ohio Call Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS) at 1-888-507-7427 or visit www.multiplan.com/kaiser. Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company (KPIC) has contracted with PHCS to provide access to hospitals and physicians, with a commitment to keeping outof-pocket costs low through contracted rates. You will be responsible for meeting an annual deductible (for most services) and paying the appropriate coinsurance, based on contracted rates. Participating providers have agreed to accept the negotiated fee as payment in full, and will not charge you for any amounts over the negotiated fee (no “balance billing”). Visit kp.org today! EMERGENCY CARE If you need emergency medical assistance, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. An emergency medical condition means a medical condition that manifests itself by such acute symptoms of sufficient severity, including severe pain, that a prudent lay person with average knowledge of health and medicine could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following: Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook | 3 GETTING CARE AND UTILIZING YOUR BENEFITS 1. Placing the health of the individual or, with respect to a pregnant woman, the health of the woman or her unborn child, in serious jeopardy; or 2. Serious impairment to bodily functions; or 3. Serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. If you receive emergency treatment, you will be required to pay a copayment or deductible, as well as any applicable coinsurance (see your Schedule of Coverage). If you are admitted to a hospital, the copayment or deductible will be waived. In the event you are admitted to a hospital as a result of an emergency, you, your doctor, or another responsible party are required to obtain precertification within 24 hours after care has commenced (see the “Precertification” section of this Handbook). This requirement is not applied if notice is given as soon as reasonably possible. Obtaining precertification allows us to consult with the physician providing your care and to coordinate further medical care when necessary. KPIC will not deny emergency services due to failure to obtain precertification. However, if you are admitted to the hospital for treatment for the same injury or sickness, precertification must be obtained. Please see your Certificate of Insurance and Schedule of Coverage for more details about your coverage for emergency care, or call Customer Relations Monday through Thursday, 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 1-800-6867100 or (216) 621-7100, or 1-877-676-6677 or (216) 635-4444 TTY. 4 | Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook CLAIMS PAYMENT Whether you seek services from a participating or non-participating provider, all claims should be mailed to: Meritain Health P.O. Box 27216 Lansing, MI 48909-7216 This address is also located on the back of your Kaiser Permanente ID card. For questions concerning claims and/or payments, contact: Meritain Health King James, Point VI 24651 Center Ridge Rd., Suite 200 Westlake, OH 44145 1-800-321-4085] PRESCRIPTION COVERAGE Please see your Schedule of Coverage to determine whether your benefits include prescription drug coverage. Prescription drug coverage is administered through the MedImpact MedCare® Network. With your KPIC Out-ofArea PPO insurance, you can fill covered prescriptions for a low copayment at participating pharmacies around the country. You can choose from generic, formulary brand, nonformulary brand, and specialty drugs, each of which have different copayments. Here are some definitions that may be helpful: • Generic drugs contain the same amount of the active drug ingredient as the brand name drug and meet the same FDA standards for safety and effectiveness. • Brand formulary drugs are prescription medications included on the Kaiser Permanente preferred brand drug list. • Nonformulary drugs are prescription medications that are not included on the Kaiser Permanente preferred brand drug list. • Specialty drugs are high-cost prescription medications. GETTING CARE AND UTILIZING YOUR BENEFITS Participating pharmacies include, but are not limited to, the following drugstores: Rite Aid, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Ritzman, and Walgreens. (Participating stores may change without notice.) To locate one of more than 50,000 participating pharmacies nationally, call MedImpact at 1-800-788-2949. To obtain your prescription medications, please follow these instructions: 1. Present your KPIC ID card to the pharmacist. The necessary processing numbers are located on this card. 2. Make sure the pharmacist enters the Medical Record Number (MRN) from your ID card instead of your Social Security number. 3. Be prepared to pay your copayment amount (a lower copayment will be charged for generic medications). For questions about the coverage level for a specific drug, please contact MedImpact at 1-800-788-2949. If you have prescription drug coverage, your plan may have a mail order option for purchasing prescriptions. The KPIC Mail Order Prescription Program allows some Out-of-Area PPO members to order prescription maintenance medications through Immediate Pharmaceutical Services (IPS), a mail order service facility. Members may order their refills online at www.ipsrx.com, by phone at 1-800-233-3872, or by mail. Once the order has been received, it will be delivered to you within 7 to 10 days, with no charge for delivery. In addition, you may be eligible to receive up to a 90-day supply of maintenance medication for twice the single copayment. Please refer to your Schedule of Coverage for details. PRECERTIFICATION No referrals are necessary to see providers, including specialists. However, precertification is required for some inpatient and outpatient services. Precertification is a required review of the necessity and appropriateness of specified services or treatments. You need to get precertification for certain services listed in your Certificate of Insurance. You or your physician need to call 1-866-433-1333 in advance of when you need these services. (For your convenience, this telephone number is also printed on the back of your Kaiser Permanente ID card.) For complete information about which services are covered or excluded please refer to your Certificate of Insurance. HEALTH INFORMATION AND EDUCATION Our website, kp.org, has a wealth of information you can review 24 hours a day. You can research various topics in our health and drug encyclopedias, take online health assessments, and view information on our featured health topics, such as allergies, diabetes, nutrition, and weight management. When you’re ready to make a healthy change in your life, knowing where to start can help you figure out your next steps. With HealthMedia® Succeed™, our free, online total health assessment (THA) tool, you can get a good look at your current overall health. It helps you prioritize what kinds of health changes you may want to make, based not only on your risk for developing certain health conditions, but also on your confidence and readiness to make a change. Once you’ve completed an online questionnaire, you’ll receive a customized action plan to get you started on a better, healthier you. Visit kp.org/healthylifestyles to access Succeed. This feature requires you to be registered and signed on to our website. So if you haven’t registered yet, please start by going to kp.org/register. Visit kp.org today! Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook | 5 PRIVACY NOTICE Privacy Notice At Kaiser Permanente, we want you to know that we’re committed to protecting your privacy. Your medical and financial information is confidential. The Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company HIPAA privacy notice in this section of the Member Handbook explains how we collect, store, protect, and share the personal information of our members and former members. This notice fulfills federal disclosure requirements mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). What do you need to do? Please take a moment to do the following: • Review the notice. It tells you about your rights and our obligations concerning your health information. • Share the notice with other Kaiser Permanente members in your household. We hope you find the enclosed information helpful. We take our responsibility to protect your health information seriously and, as in the past, we will continue to take appropriate steps to safeguard that information. As always, thank you for entrusting your health care to Kaiser Permanente. 6 | Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook PRIVACY NOTICE KAISER PERMANENTE INSURANCE COMPANY HIPAA PRIVACY NOTICE HIPAA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY. Please Note: This is Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company’s (“KPIC”) Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”). This Notice refers to KPIC by using the terms “we,” “us,” and “our.” I. What is “Protected Health Information?” • Collecting information from visitors to our Web Your protected health information (“PHI”) is health information that contains identifiers, such as your name, Social Security number, or other information that reveals who you are. For example, your medical record is PHI because it includes your name and other identifiers. site such as online forms, site visit data, and other online communications; and • Collecting information from consumer or medical reporting agencies or other sources such as insurance support organizations and credit bureaus. In the course of administering and paying for health care services, we collect various types of nonpublic personal information, including PHI, from various sources, such as you, other members, health care professionals, your employer, your benefits plan sponsor, or association regarding any group coverage you may have. Such information may include information contained in your health records, personally identifiable information, and financial information. KPIC collects information using a variety of techniques. Examples include: • Collecting information from you through surveys, applications, related forms, and other written requests and communications; • Collecting information from your employer, benefits plan sponsor, or association regarding group coverage that you may have through group applications, census data, and other written requests and communications; II. About our responsibility to protect your PHI Visit kp.org today! By law, we must: 1. protect the privacy of your PHI; 2. provide you with this Notice of your rights and our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI; and 3. follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect. III. Your rights regarding your PHI This section tells you about your rights regarding your PHI, for example, your medical and billing records maintained by or for an insurance company, enrollment, payment, claims adjudication, case or medical/dental management record systems maintained by or for a health plan or insurance company. It also describes how you can exercise these rights. Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook | 7 PRIVACY NOTICE Your right to see and receive copies of your PHI In general, you have a right to see and receive copies of your PHI in designated record sets such as your medical and billing records maintained by or for an insurance company, enrollment, payment, claims adjudication, case or medical/dental management record systems maintained by or for a health plan or insurance company. If you would like to see or receive a copy of such records maintained by KPIC, please write us at: If you believe there is a mistake in your PHI or that important information is missing, you may request that we correct or add to the record. Please write to us and tell us what you are asking for and why we should make the correction or addition. We will respond in writing after receiving your request. If we approve your request, we will make the correction or addition to your PHI. If we deny your request, we will tell you why and explain your right to file a written statement of disagreement. Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company Attention: Privacy Director One Kaiser Plaza, 25 B Oakland, CA 94612 Your right to an accounting of disclosures of PHI You may ask us for a list of our disclosures of your PHI. Write to us at: After we receive your written request, we will let you know when and how you can see or obtain a copy of your record. If you agree, we will give you a summary or explanation of your PHI instead of providing copies. We may charge you a fee for the copies, summary, or explanation. If we do not have the record you asked for but we know who does, we will tell you whom to contact to request it. In limited situations, we may deny some or all of your request to see or receive copies of your records, but if we do, we will tell you why in writing and explain your right, if any, to have our denial reviewed. Your right to choose how we send PHI to you You may ask us to send your PHI to you at a different address (for example, your work address) or by different means (for example, fax instead of regular mail). We will accommodate this request if you clearly state that the disclosure of all or part of the information we will disclose to you could endanger you. However, we are permitted to charge you for any additional cost of sending your PHI to different addresses or by different means. Your right to correct or update your PHI 8 | Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company Attention: Privacy Director One Kaiser Plaza, 25 B Oakland, CA 94612 The list we give you will include disclosures made in the last six years, unless you request a shorter time or if less than six years have passed since April 14, 2003. For example, if you requested a list of disclosures on April 14, 2005, the list would cover only two years. You are entitled to one disclosure accounting in any 12-month period at no charge. If you request any additional accountings less than 12 months later, we may charge you a fee. Except as otherwise required under state law, an accounting does not include, for example, disclosures to carry out treatment, payment, and health care operations; disclosures that occurred prior to April 14, 2003; disclosures for which KPIC had a signed authorization; disclosures of your PHI to you; disclosure for notification for disaster relief purposes; or disclosures to persons involved in your care and persons acting on your behalf. PRIVACY NOTICE Your right to request limits on uses and disclosures of your PHI You may request that we limit our uses and disclosures of your PHI for treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes. However, by law, we do not have to agree to your request. Because we believe that this information may be needed to appropriately manage the care of individuals covered under our health insurance plans, it is our policy to not agree to requests for restrictions. Your right to receive a paper copy of this Notice You also have a right to receive a paper copy of this Notice upon request. IV. How we may use and disclose your PHI Your confidentiality is important to us. Our employees are required to maintain the confidentiality of the PHI of our insureds and we have policies and procedures and other safeguards to help protect your PHI from improper use and disclosure. Sometimes we are allowed by law to use and disclose certain PHI without your written permission. We briefly describe these uses and disclosures below and give you some examples. How much PHI is used or disclosed without your written permission will vary depending, for example, on the intended purpose of the use or disclosure. Sometimes we may only need to use or disclose a limited amount of PHI, such as to confirm that you are a KPIC insured. At other times, we may need to use or disclose more PHI such as when we assist in resolving an appeal or grievance. Treatment alternatives and health-related benefits and services: In some instances, the law permits us to contact you: 1) to describe our network or describe the extent to which we offer and pay for various products and services; 2) for your treatment; 3) for case management and care coordination; or 4) to direct or recommend available treatment options, therapies, health care providers, or care Visit kp.org today! settings. For example, we may tell you about a new drug or procedure or about educational or health management activities. Payment: Your PHI may be needed to determine our responsibility to pay for, or to permit us to bill and collect payment for, treatment and health-related services that you receive. When you or a provider sends us the bill for health care services, we use and disclose your PHI to determine how much, if any, of the bill we are responsible for paying. Health care operations: We may use and disclose your PHI for certain health care operations, for example, quality assessment and improvement, licensing, accreditation, activities relating to the creation, renewal, or replacement of health insurance or health benefits; conducting medical review; legal services; auditing functions, including fraud and abuse detection and compliance programs; customer service, underwriting, and determining premiums and other costs of providing health care. Business associates: We may contract with business associates to perform certain functions or activities on our behalf, such as payment and health care operations. These business associates must agree to safeguard your PHI. Specific types of PHI: There are stricter requirements for use and disclosure of some types of PHI, for example, mental health and drug and alcohol abuse patient information or the results of HIV/AIDS tests. However, there are still circumstances in which these types of information may be used or disclosed without your authorization. Communications with family and others when you are present: Sometimes a family member or other person involved in your care, or payment for your care, will be present when we are discussing your PHI with you. If you object, please tell us and we Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook | 9 PRIVACY NOTICE won’t discuss your PHI or we will ask the person to leave. Communications with family and others when you are not present: There may be times when it is necessary to disclose your PHI to a family member or other person involved in your care, or payment for your care, because there is an emergency, you are not present, or you lack the decision making capacity to agree or object. In those instances, we will use our professional judgment to determine if it’s in your best interest to disclose your PHI. If so, we will limit the disclosure to the PHI that is directly relevant to the person’s involvement with your health care, or payment for your care. For example, we may allow someone to pick up a prescription for you. Disclosure in case of disaster relief: We may disclose your name, city of residence, age, gender, and general condition to a public or private disaster relief organization to assist disaster relief efforts, unless you object at the time. Disclosures to parents as personal representatives of minors: In most cases, we may disclose your minor child’s PHI to you. In some situations, however, we are permitted or even required by law to deny your access to your minor child’s PHI. An example of when we must deny such access is when you are a nonresidential parent of a minor child and we are presented with a court order that limits the terms and conditions under which you may have access to the records that pertain to your child. Public health activities: Public health activities cover many functions performed or authorized by government agencies to promote and protect the public’s health and may require us to disclose your PHI. For example, we may disclose your PHI as part of our obligation to report to public health authorities certain diseases, injuries, conditions, and vital 10 | Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook events such as births. Sometimes we may disclose your PHI to someone you may have exposed to a communicable disease or who may otherwise be at risk of getting or spreading the disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for tracking and monitoring certain medical products, such as pacemakers and hip replacements, to identify product problems and failures and injuries they may have caused. If you have received one of these products, we may use and disclose your PHI to the FDA or other authorized persons or organizations, such as the maker of the product. We may use and disclose your PHI as necessary to comply with federal and state laws that govern workplace safety. Health oversight: As a health insurer, we are subject to oversight conducted by federal and state agencies. These agencies may conduct audits of our operations and activities and in that process, they may review your PHI. Disclosures to your employer or your employee organization: If you are enrolled in a KPIC health insurance plan through your employer or employee organization, we may share certain PHI with them without your authorization, but only when allowed by law. For example, we may disclose your PHI for a workers’ compensation claim or to determine whether you are enrolled in the plan or whether premiums have been paid on your behalf. For other purposes, such as for inquiries by your employer or employee organization on your behalf, we will obtain your authorization when necessary under applicable law. Workers’ compensation: In order to comply with workers’ compensation laws, we may use and disclose your PHI. For example, we may communicate your medical information regarding a PRIVACY NOTICE work-related injury or illness to claims administrators, insurance carriers, and others responsible for evaluating your claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Military activity and national security: We may sometimes use or disclose the PHI of armed forces personnel to the applicable military authorities when they believe it is necessary to properly carry out military missions. We may also disclose your PHI to authorized federal officials as necessary for national security and intelligence activities or for protection of the President and other government officials and dignitaries. Marketing: KPIC may use and disclose your PHI to contact you about benefits, services, or supplies that we can offer you in addition to your KPIC health coverage. Required by law: In some circumstances federal or state law requires that we disclose your PHI to others. For example, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services may review our compliance efforts, which may include seeing your PHI. Lawsuits and other legal disputes: We may use and disclose PHI in responding to a court or administrative order, a subpoena, or a discovery request. We may also use and disclose PHI to the extent permitted by law without your authorization, for example, to defend a lawsuit or arbitration. Law enforcement: We may disclose PHI to authorized officials for law enforcement purposes, for example, to respond to a search warrant, report a crime on our premises, or help identify or locate someone. abuse or neglect or to identify suspected victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. Coroners and funeral directors: We may disclose PHI to a coroner or medical examiner to permit identification of a body, determine cause of death, or for other official duties. We may also disclose PHI to funeral directors. Inmates: Under the federal law that requires us to give you this Notice, inmates do not have the same rights to control their PHI as other individuals. If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or in the custody of a law enforcement official, we may disclose your PHI to the correctional institution or the law enforcement official for certain purposes, for example, to protect your health or safety or someone else’s. All other uses and disclosures of your PHI require your prior written authorization. Except for those uses and disclosures described above, we will not use or disclose your PHI without your written authorization. When your authorization is required and you authorize us to use or disclose your PHI for some purpose, you may revoke that authorization by notifying us in writing at any time. Please note that the revocation will not apply to any authorized use or disclosure of your PHI that took place before we received your revocation. Also, if you gave your authorization to secure a policy of insurance, including health insurance from us, you may not be permitted to revoke it until the insurer can no longer contest the policy issued to you or a claim under the policy. Abuse or neglect: By law, we may disclose PHI to the appropriate authority to report suspected child Visit kp.org today! Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook | 11 PRIVACY NOTICE V. How to contact us about this Notice or to complain about our privacy practices If you have any questions about this notice, or want to lodge a complaint about our privacy practices, please let us know by writing to us at: Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company Attention: Privacy Director One Kaiser Plaza, 25 B Oakland, CA 94612 You also may notify the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. We will not take retaliatory action against you if you file a complaint about our privacy practices. VI. Changes to this Notice We may change this Notice and our privacy practices at any time, as long as the change is consistent with state and federal law. Any revised notice will apply both to the PHI we already have about you at the time of the change, and any PHI created or received after the change takes effect. If we make an important change to our privacy practices, we will promptly change this Notice and provide the new notice to you via the U.S. Postal Service addressed to your last known address on file with us. Except for changes required by law, we will not implement an important change to our privacy practices before we revise this Notice. VII. Effective date of this Notice This Notice is effective on April 14, 2003. 12 | Kaiser Permanente Out-of-Area Member Handbook Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio North Point Tower Suite 1200 1001 Lakeside Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44114-1153 kp.org © 2010 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio #X0761 2229
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