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At Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota ("BCBSND"), protecting your personal information is important to us. Whether you are a current customer or visiting this site, we are as committed to protecting the information you provide through this website as when you provide it to us over the phone, in person or through the mail. However, we recognize, and want you to recognize, that while electronic communications have many benefits, they are not as secure as other means of communication. Read the following information carefully to better understand how using this site affects your privacy.
BCBSND attempts to protect online information according to applicable laws and established company security standards and practices. We have security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under our control, and we continually evaluate new technologies for safeguarding your information. However, we cannot guarantee the confidentiality or security of electronic transmissions via the internet because they may potentially use unsecure computers and links, and data may be lost or intercepted by unauthorized parties during such transmission. If you wish to submit personal or confidential information by a more secure means of communication, contact us.
Sensitive information you provide to us online is protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. SSL is the leading security protocol for data transfer on the internet. This technology encrypts your account information as it moves between your internet browser and BCBSND computer systems. When information is encrypted in this way, it becomes nearly impossible for anyone other than BCBSND to read it. This secure session helps protect the safety and confidentiality of your information when you interact with BCBSND online.
Technologies like cookies, pixels, device or other identifiers (collectively, “Cookies and similar technologies”) are used to deliver, secure, and understand products and services offered by BCBSND. Cookies are small files that are placed on your browser or device by the website you are viewing or app you are using. Pixel tags (also called clear GIFs, web beacons, or pixels) are small blocks of code on a website or app that allow them to do things like read and place cookies and transmit information to us.
We use cookies and similar technologies for a variety of reasons, such as allowing us to show you content and material that’s most relevant to you, improving our products and services, and helping to keep our products and services secure. While specific names of the cookies and similar technologies that we use may change from time to time as we improve and update our products and services, they generally fall into the following categories of use: authentication, security, insights and measurements, localization, and site features and performance.
We sometimes use service providers or partner with third parties to help us provide or inform you of certain products and services. BCBSND may contract with these other companies that use cookies and similar technology to collect information regarding your interaction with BCBSND advertisements and your use of both BCBSND and third-party websites. We may transfer information to service providers and other partners who globally support our business, such as providing technical infrastructure services, analyzing how our products and services are used, measuring the effectiveness of ads and services, providing customer service, and facilitating payments.
If you do not want to receive cookies and similar technologies from this site, you can set your browser to not accept them.
Use your own best judgment when sending information via the internet to an email address. Email sent via the internet may pass through private and public networks with varying levels of security. Some networks may have taken steps to secure email transmissions while others have not, thereby compromising the privacy and integrity of an email. An email may be copied, altered or destroyed. BCBSND will respect your request not to be contacted by email.
After your email is received, BCBSND preserves the content of your email, your email address and our response so we can efficiently respond to questions you might have. We also do this in an effort to meet legal and regulatory requirements.
Evolving technology will continue to provide Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota with new and better ways to safeguard your information. We may update this statement in the future to reflect these technological advances, and we encourage you to return to this page from time to time for any updates.
We, at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota know you value your privacy. That is why we are committed to the confidentiality and security of information that we collect about you (“protected health information”). We maintain physical, administrative and technical safeguards to protect against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of your personal information, including information we share internally either orally, electronically, or in writing.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information and to explain our legal duties and privacy practices. We are also required by law to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information. This notice applies to all protected health information that we maintain, including information of former members who are no longer covered by us. We hope this notice will clarify our responsibilities to you and give you an understanding of your rights. We are required to abide by the notice that is currently in effect. This notice is in effect as of January 1, 2026.
You may exercise the following rights by calling our Customer Service department or writing our Privacy Official. See “Contacting us” at the end of this notice.
Inspection and copies. You have the right to request, to inspect, or receive a copy of protected health information that we maintain about you in a “designated record set.” A “designated record set” generally includes the information we use to administer your health benefits, such as enrollment information and claims. We are permitted to charge a fee for copies you request.
Amendment. If you believe that protected health information we maintain about you in a designated record set is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to request an amendment to correct or complete the information. You must submit your request in writing and explain the reason for the amendment. If we agree to make the change, we will make reasonable efforts to inform others, including people you identify, that the information has been amended and we will use our best efforts to include the amendment with any future disclosure. If we decline to amend information (for example, if we did not create the original record), you have the right to submit a statement of disagreement which we will include in future disclosures of the relevant information. We may attach a rebuttal statement to your statement of disagreement.
Notice. You have the right to receive a paper copy of this notice upon request.
Accounting. You have the right to request a list of certain disclosures of your protected health information. The list will not include disclosures we made for treatment, payment, or health care operations, that took place more than six years ago, or that were made for certain other reasons (as permitted by law). We will supply this list free of charge once a year at your request. If you request an accounting more than once in a 12-month period, we may charge a reasonable fee.
Special handling. You have the right to request restrictions on our use or disclosure of protected health information in addition to the restrictions imposed by law. We are not required to agree to your request and we may be unable to do so. If we do agree, we will comply with your request except in the case of emergency. You also have the right to request that we communicate with you in confidence with respect to communications you believe may endanger you. We will make every effort to accommodate your request if it is reasonable and you provide an alternate means to communicate. You should know that redirecting communication may not prevent others on your policy from discovering that you sought medical care. Accumulated deductibles and co-payment information may reveal that you obtained services. In addition, historic claims reports may include services that were obtained during the time communications were redirected.
Complaints. You have the right to submit a complaint if you believe we have violated your privacy rights. To submit a complaint, write to: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, 200 SW Market Street, 11th Floor, Portland, OR 97201 or call our Customer Service department at the phone number provided at the end of this notice. You also have the right to submit a complaint to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Be assured that we will not retaliate against you for submitting a complaint.
To administer health benefits, we collect, use and disclose protected health information for a variety of purposes:
Treatment. We may disclose protected health information to a health care provider in order for the provider to treat you, including providing case management to you. For example, we may provide information about your prescriptions to your provider to ensure the provider has information that may affect your treatment.
Payment. We may use or disclose protected health information for payment purposes, including to adjudicate claims, issue Explanation of Benefits, or coordinate benefits with other entities responsible for paying your claims.
Health care operations. We may use or disclose protected health information to facilitate operations, including underwriting, customer service, and detection or prevention of fraud or abuse. We may not, however, use or disclose genetic information for underwriting purposes.
Joint activities. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota engages in arrangements with other covered entities (such as health care providers and employer-based health plans) to improve health or reduce costs. We may exchange protected health information with other participants in these arrangements for treatment, payment, and health care operations related to our joint activities.
Business associates. We contract with business associates to perform BCBSND-related functions on our behalf. We disclose protected health information to these business associates and we permit them to collect, use, or disclose protected health information on our behalf to perform these functions. We contractually obligate our business associates (and they are required by law) to provide the same privacy protections that we provide.
Employers and other plan sponsors. If you are enrolled in an employer-sponsored group BCBSND (or a group BCBSND sponsored by another entity), we may disclose protected health information to the group BCBSND or plan sponsor to facilitate administration of the plan. When we provide your personal information to your employer or other plan sponsors we comply with the required safeguards to protect your information.
As permitted or required by law. We use or disclose protected health information as permitted or required by law. For example, some laws permit or require us to disclose protected health information for workers’ compensation programs or to certain government agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration.
Public health activities. We may disclose protected health information for public health activities, such as to: (a) public health agencies for the prevention and control of disease; (b) coroners or medical examiners for their duties; (c) agencies that engage in the procurement, banking, or transportation of organs or tissue for donation and transplantation services; (d) researchers for research intended to improve the health care system; and (e) third parties as necessary to avert a serious threat to the health or safety of a person.
Health oversight. We may disclose protected health information to health oversight agencies, which regulate health plans, health care providers, and the health system and investigate healthcare fraud. These agencies include: State Commissioner of Insurance, State Board of Medicine, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the FBI.
Legal proceedings. We may disclose protected health information in the course of a judicial or administrative proceeding, and in response to a court order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process.
Law enforcement. We may disclose protected health information to law enforcement officials in response to an administrative subpoena, a warrant, or an administrative request intended to identify or locate a suspect, victim, or witness. We also may disclose protected health information for the purpose of reporting a crime on our premises.
Military and national security. We may disclose protected health information to armed forces personnel for military activities and to authorized federal officials for national security and intelligence activities.
Correctional institution. We may disclose protected health information of an inmate to a correctional institution for treatment purposes or to ensure the safety of the inmate and others.
You. We may disclose your protected health information to you at your request, to inform you about the status of your claims, or for other purposes.
Others involved in your health care. We may disclose protected health information to personal representatives such as court-appointed guardians, executors, conservators, and in many cases parents of minor children, as well as to attorneys in fact when a valid power of attorney exists. In addition, if you give us verbal permission or if your permission can be implied (for example, if you call Customer Service with a family member or friend on the line), we may disclose protected health information to them on your behalf. This permission is valid only for a limited time. If you want to authorize on-going disclosures to family members or friends, you must submit written authorization.
Authorizations. You may give us written authorization to use protected health information or disclose protected health information about yourself to anyone for any purpose. An authorization remains valid for two years unless the authorization states otherwise or you revoke it. You may revoke an authorization at any time by submitting a written revocation (see “Contacting us,” below), but a revocation will not affect any use or disclosure that we made relying on the authorization while it was in effect. An authorization is required for us to use or disclose your protected health information for purposes other than those described in this notice. In particular, we need your written authorization to use or disclose psychotherapy notes, except in limited circumstances such as when the disclosure is required by law. We would also need to obtain your written authorization if we wanted to sell information about you to a third party or send you communications about products and services that are not related to your health.
Other applicable laws. If any state or federal law imposes stricter requirements than the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), we must comply with those laws in addition to HIPAA. Federal law prohibits us from using or disclosing certain information regarding your substance use disorders for any purpose unless you consent to the uses and disclosures. In most cases, this consent is given through your treating provider.
Substance use disorder information. We cannot use or disclose information about your treatment for substance use disorders (or provide testimony based on such information) for any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings against you. Any such disclosure is permitted only with your consent or a special type of court order, for which you must have notice and an opportunity to object, as well as a subpoena, court order, or similar legal mandate.
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and this notice at any time without advance notice. Before we make any material change in our privacy practices, we will change this notice and post the new notice on our website. We will provide a copy of the new notice (or information about the changes to our privacy practices and how to obtain the new notice) in our next annual mailing to members who are then covered by one of our health plans. The new notice will apply to all protected health information in our possession, including any information created or received before the new notice became effective.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota is required to provide you with access to detailed information about your health history through a “Patient Access API.” While you are a current member, you may access this information by downloading a third-party application (the “App”) on your smart phone, tablet, computer or other similar device. Learn more about the Patient Access API
You may reach us during regular business hours by calling the customer service number on the back of your member card or via our Contact us page.