NRECA Mailing HIPAA Privacy Notice to Participants

NRECA will mail a Notice of Privacy Practices August 29 to participants enrolled in the NRECA medical, dental and vision plans. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires plan sponsors like NRECA to send privacy notices to all participants enrolled in group health plans at these times: 1) upon enrollment, 2) at least once every three years or 3) whenever the plan’s privacy practices substantially change (if sooner than three years after the last notice was sent).

NRECA last mailed the privacy notice to participants three years ago (September 2016) and mailed the notice thereafter each month to new participants. Note: The privacy notice is for participants’ information only. They do not need to sign or return it to NRECA.

What is the privacy notice?
The Notice of Privacy Practices explains the plan’s privacy practices and legal duties as well as participants’ rights regarding their protected health information (PHI). The notice also describes how the plan can use and disclose PHI under the HIPAA rules in instances with and without the participant’s authorization.
 
Find the privacy notice on the NRECA Employee Benefits website, called HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices – NRECA Group Benefits Program.

Privacy notice for 125 plans and HRA plans
HIPAA also requires cooperatives to distribute HIPAA privacy notices to the participants in their 125 plan’s health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). The NRECA Employee Benefits Weekly article dated April 24, 2019, included information on these requirements and provided a link to Sample HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices – FSA and HRA.

If you have questions about the mailing or the HIPAA privacy rules, contact the Member Contact Center at 866.673.2299 or contactcenter@nreca.coop.