Privacy Policy

The Maine Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace values your privacy, your right to privacy, and will protect the information we maintain about you in the ongoing operation of CoverME.gov in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and standards for security and privacy.

As a reflection of our commitment to protecting your information, CoverME.gov (the “Site”) has adopted these privacy policies, which govern the creation, collection, use, disclosure, and maintenance of personally identifiable information ("Personally Identifiable Information" or "PII") in connection with Marketplace operations. The Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace expects all individuals and entities that have access to PII through or in connection with Marketplace services to abide by these Privacy Policies, including Marketplace employees, business partners, grantees, contractors and designees, as well as insurance companies and governmental agencies. These Privacy Policies are designed to complement (and not override) any applicable state or federal laws or regulations, which continue to apply to any activities subject to these Policies. The Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace may amend these Privacy Policies from time to time.

Collection and Protection of Your Personally Identifiable Information

For purposes of this Privacy Policy, we use the term “Personally Identifiable Information,” or “PII,” to mean any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, Social Security number, birth date, information, credit card information, or any combination of information that could be used to identify you.

Your Personally Identifiable Information collected via CoverME.gov will not be shared, sold, or transferred to any third party for the third party's direct marketing purposes without your prior consent, unless it is required by law. Your PII may otherwise be used by us as required or permitted by law (e.g., as necessary to carry out authorized functions of the Marketplace given its authority from the Affordable Care Act).

For example, information collected through CoverME.gov will be available to state employees for the purpose of maintaining the web portal and improving the site visitor experience. Also, where appropriate, we may provide the information submitted by you to the person or company that is the subject of your inquiry, or to a government agency responsible for matters referred to in your communication. Additional information about the state of Maine policies regarding the collection, use, disclosure, and maintenance of PII generally is set forth in the Maine Privacy Policy.

The Maine Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace, and the state of Maine’s agencies, officers, or employees exercise no control over the third-party organization's views, accuracy, copyright or trademark compliance, or the legality of the material contained on those websites, and do not sponsor, endorse, or approve the information, content, products, materials, opinions or services contained on such external sites.

Personally Identifiable Information we may collect from you:

  • Name
  • Postal address, including billing and shipping addresses
  • Telephone number(s)
  • Email address(es)
  • Credit or debit card number(s)
  • Financial information in certain circumstances
  • Social media account information
  • Driver’s license, government-issued ID, or passport
  • Geolocation information
  • Communication, product, service, or other preferences
  • Demographic information
  • IP address
  • Personal health information

Personally Identifiable Information we may collect from you when you interact with us:

  • Register for, use, or make a payment for a service
  • Contact us with a question or request
  • Submit a question, comment, or complaint
  • "Like", "Follow" or otherwise connect with or post to one of the State's social media pages

Collection and Use of Non-Personally Identifiable Information

When you visit CoverME.gov, certain data, such as your computer's unique Internet protocol ("IP") address (which does not identify you as an individual), will be automatically collected and sent to the servers that support our website system to help us provide better service and a more effective website. We use your IP address to assess the frequency of visits to this Site and the popularity of its various pages and functions. We also may collect information about the type of operating system you use (e.g., Microsoft Windows or Mac OS), the type of browser you use (e.g., Firefox or Internet Explorer), the domain name of the Internet service provider, your activities while visiting CoverME.gov, and the content you access. We will not attempt to match any PII that you provide to us with your IP address or the other information that does not identify you as an individual, unless there are reasonable grounds to believe that doing so would provide information that is relevant and material to exercising our legal rights or fulfilling our legal obligations.

In addition, as part of these efforts, sections of CoverME.gov may place a small text file (typically only a few bytes) on your hard drive to allow us to identify your computer. We will not attempt to read any additional information on your hard drive, and we do not combine collected information with other personal information to determine your identity or your e-mail address. CoverME.gov uses temporary "cookies" to allow visitors to interact with CoverME.gov and to use online applications; "cookies" do not allow us to personally identify a visitor. These cookies are stored only in memory and are deleted when the user's browser is shut down. CoverME.gov does not use permanent "cookies."

Other information we collect from you:

  • Cookies: Our services may use “cookies” and similar technologies for record-keeping purposes. This information is stored in a file on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies make web surfing and browsing easier for you by saving your preferences so that we can use these to improve your next visit to our website.
    • One of the purposes of cookies is to simplify the use of the website. A cookie may save a user’s login details for example, so that the user does not need to login every time.
    • Cookies are also used for statistical purposes, to determine how the website is used.
  • Google Analytics: We may use Google Analytics to help us get a better understanding of how visitors use this website.
    • The information generated by the Google Analytics cookie, about your use of this website, is transmitted to and stored by Google. If you do not want your activity on this website to be tracked by Google Analytics, you may opt out by using this link: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
  • Pixels, Beacons: We or third parties may use invisible pixels or beacons on this website to count how many users visit certain pages. This information is collected and reported either in the aggregate or anonymously. We may use this information to improve our content, and to better address the needs of our users when they use this website and/or other sites.
  • From Other Sources: We may receive your personal information from other sources, such as public databases, social media platforms, from people with whom you are friends or otherwise connected on social media platforms, as well as from other third parties. For example, if you elect to connect your social media account to your website account, certain personal information from your social media account will be shared with us, which may include personal information that is part of your public profile, or your friends' public profiles.
  • Mobile Devices: When you use or access our services from a mobile device, we may collect information such as your unique device ID and your location. If you download and use an app, we and our service providers may track and collect app usage data, such as the date and time the app on your device accesses our servers and what information and files have been downloaded to the app based on your device number, as well as any other personal information specified by the app in its terms or notices.
  • Do Not Track Signals: Third parties, including our service providers, may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites, including when you visit this website. You can learn about how to exercise choice regarding the collection of information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services by visiting: www.aboutads.info and networkadvertising.org
  • Other Non-Personal Information: In addition to any personal information or other information that you choose to provide to us on our services, we and our third-party service providers may use a variety of technologies, now and hereafter devised, that automatically collect certain website usage information whenever you visit or interact with our services. This information may include browser type, operating system, the page served, the time, the source of the request, the preceding page view, and other similar information. We may use this usage information for a variety of purposes, including to enhance or otherwise improve our services. In addition, we may also collect your IP address or some other unique identifier for the particular device you use to access the Internet, as applicable (collectively, referred to herein as a "Device Identifier"). A device identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your device, and we may identify your device by its device identifier. When analyzed, usage information helps us determine how our services are used, such as what types of visitors arrive at the services, what type of content is most popular, what type of content you may find most relevant and what type of visitors are interested in particular kinds of content and advertising. We may associate your device identifier or website usage information with the personal information you provide, but we will treat the combined information as personal information.
  • We may also devise identifiers to secure the State of Maine's website and associated technology infrastructure.

Permitted Users

The Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace and CoverME.gov’s services are not directed to persons under the age of 13 and we do not knowingly request personal information from anyone whom we know to be under the age of 13.

Secure Transmissions

CoverME.gov has taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of Personally Identifiable Information that you provide us. CoverME.gov is equipped with security measures intended to protect such information.

Rules and Regulations

Withdrawing Your Consent: You may withdraw any consent that you have provided to us to process your information at any time.

Accessing your Information: You may have rights to access the personal information we process about you.

Deleting your Information: You may request we delete personal information we hold about you.

We will assess your request(s) and determine, under applicable law, whether or not we are required to comply with your request.

  • Any request must be made in writing by contacting CoverME.gov. We may, depending on the applicable law where you live, be entitled to charge a nominal fee to cover some of our administration costs in connection with the provision of such information. We may also ask you to verify your identity and to provide further details relating to your request.
  • Correcting your Information: We will take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the personal information we retain about you. It is your responsibility to ensure you submit true, accurate, and complete information to us, and that you update us in a timely manner if your information changes. You may request that any inaccurate or incomplete personal information held by us or on our behalf is corrected, by contacting CoverME.gov.
  • Objecting to Processing: If you would like us to stop processing your personal information, you can request this by contacting CoverME.gov. We will assess your request and determine, under applicable law, whether or not we have any justification for the continued processing.
  • Transferring your Information: Under certain circumstances, you may receive your personal information in a format that allows you to send it somewhere else, or to direct us to transfer it directly somewhere else.

Terms and Conditions

Modification of the Agreement

The Office of Health Insurance Marketplace maintains the right to modify these Privacy Policies at any time and may do so by posting notice of such modifications on this page. Any modification is effective immediately upon posting, unless otherwise stated. Each time you access, use, or browse CoverME.gov, you signify your acceptance of the then-current Privacy Policies. Thus, your continued use of CoverME.gov following the posting of any modification signifies your acceptance of such modification. You should periodically visit this page to review the Privacy Policies. If you do not agree to be bound by these policies, you are not authorized to use CoverME.gov or interact with the Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace via the CoverME.gov and you must discontinue use immediately and refrain from dealing with us through the website.

Conduct

You agree to access and use CoverME.gov only for lawful purposes. You are solely responsible for the knowledge of and adherence to any and all laws, statutes, rules and regulations pertaining to your use of the Site. By accessing the Site, you agree that you will not:

  1. Use the Site to commit a criminal offense or to encourage others to engage in any conduct that would constitute a criminal offense or give rise to civil liability;
  2. Post or transmit any discriminatory, libelous, harassing, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, or otherwise unlawful content;
  3. Use the Site to impersonate other parties or entities;
  4. Use the Site to upload any content that contains a software virus, "Trojan Horse" or any other computer code, files, or programs that may alter, damage, or interrupt the functionality of the Site or the hardware or software of any other person who accesses the Site;
  5. Upload, post, e-mail, or otherwise transmit any materials that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under a contractual relationship;
  6. Alter, damage, or delete any content posted on the site;
  7. Disrupt the normal flow of communication in any way;
  8. Claim a relationship with or represent any business, association, or other organization with which you are not authorized to claim such a relationship or represent;
  9. Post or transmit any unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, or other forms of solicitation;
  10. Post any material that infringes upon or violates the intellectual property rights of another;
  11. Collect or store personal information about others; or
  12. Access the Site via automated devices, bots, agents, scraping, scripts, intelligent search or any similar means of access to the content or any other materials or information available from the Site.

Registration

Certain portions of the Site are limited to registered users and/or allow a user to request support or services online by entering personal information. At the time you register for online account access, you may be required to create a username and password to be used in conjunction with your account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and are fully responsible for all uses of your password and transactions conducted in your account, whether by you or others. You agree to (a) log out of your account at the end of each session; (b) keep your password confidential and not share it with anyone else; and (c) immediately notify the Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security as it is are authorized to act on instructions received through use of your password, and is not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply.

You agree that any information provided to us in these areas will be complete and accurate, that you will not register under the name of, nor attempt to enter the Site under the name of, another person, and that you will not adopt a username that CoverME.gov or the state of Maine, in their sole discretion, deems offensive.

Termination of Use

The Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to and use of this Site without notice and for any reason, including for violation of these policies and Conditions of Use or for other conduct that the Authority, in its sole discretion, believes is unlawful or harmful to others. In the event of termination, you will no longer be authorized to access the Site, and the Authority will use any means possible to enforce this termination.

Contact Information

If after reviewing this Privacy Policy, you have any questions, complaints or privacy concerns, or would like to make any requests in relation to your personal information, or obtain further information on safeguards, you may contact the Director of Healthcare Privacy, at DHHS.Privacy@maine.gov or 207-287-3707.