Privacy Policy and Text Messaging Terms

1. Who we are and what this covers

M&L Prodigy Healthcare (“M&L Prodigy,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a Massachusetts Adult Foster Care (AFC) provider. Adult Foster Care is a MassHealth program, governed by 130 CMR 408.000, that helps adults with disabilities and chronic health conditions live safely at home with a trained caregiver.

This policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect information when you:

• visit mlphealthcare.org or use its eligibility screener and contact forms;
• call, email, or send a text message to our business phone lines, or receive a call, email, or text message from us; and
• contact us as a family member, a prospective caregiver, or a referring professional such as a discharge planner, case manager, or physician’s office.

Once someone enrolls in our Adult Foster Care program, the health information we keep about that member is also covered by our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, described in section 6. Where the two documents differ about health information, the Notice of Privacy Practices controls.

2. Information we collect

Information you give us

• Contact details, such as your name, phone number, email address, town, and preferred language.
• Eligibility screener answers. Our short website screener asks whether the person who needs care is enrolled in MassHealth, whether they need daily help with personal care, and whether you live with them and are not their spouse. It does not ask for a name, date of birth, or MassHealth ID.
• Messages you send us through our forms, by email, or by text message.
• Referral information that a professional or family member provides so we can reach someone who may qualify.
• Enrollment and caregiver information that we collect directly and securely after we connect, such as the details MassHealth requires to determine eligibility, caregiver screening and training records, and the information needed to pay the caregiver stipend.

Information collected automatically

• Technical information, such as your IP address, browser type, device type, and the date and time of your visit. Our hosting provider records this to deliver the site and protect it from abuse, and we store the IP address with each form submission to help prevent spam and fraud.
• Campaign codes. If you arrive from one of our advertisements, the link may include a short code naming that campaign. We keep it for your browser session only (not in a cookie) and save it with any form you submit, so we know which outreach helped you find us.

Our website does not use advertising cookies, does not run third party advertising trackers, and does not sell or share browsing data for targeted advertising. The fonts on our pages are served from our own website, so no font provider receives your IP address.

Information from others

We may receive information about a prospective member from a referring professional, a family member, or MassHealth and its contracted agencies, as part of determining eligibility and coordinating care.

3. How we use information

We use information to:

• respond to your questions and return your calls, emails, and text messages;
• screen for and determine eligibility for Adult Foster Care, and complete enrollment paperwork with MassHealth;
• recruit, screen, train, and support caregivers, and administer the caregiver stipend;
• schedule and coordinate nurse visits, social worker visits, and care plan reviews;
• communicate with you in your preferred language;
• work with referring professionals who have sent someone to us;
• understand which of our outreach efforts help people find the program, so we can make the program visible to more people who qualify;
• keep our website, systems, and records secure and prevent fraud or misuse; and
• meet our legal, regulatory, and MassHealth program obligations.

4. Text messaging terms

These terms apply to text messages (SMS and MMS) exchanged with M&L Prodigy Healthcare business phone lines, including (781) 605 4407.

Program description

M&L Prodigy Healthcare sends text messages to families, members, caregivers, and referring professionals who have asked to hear from us. Messages relate to your inquiry and our services, for example: replies to questions you have sent us, follow up on an eligibility screening or referral, scheduling and reminders for calls, intake appointments, and nurse or social worker visits, requests for enrollment or caregiver paperwork, and caregiver training reminders. We do not use text messaging to advertise.

How you agree to receive texts

We only send text messages to people who have agreed to receive them. You may agree by checking a consent box or signing a consent form that shows your mobile number, by telling a member of our team verbally that we may text you (which we note in your record), or by sending a text message to our business line first. Agreeing to receive text messages is never a condition of receiving services, enrolling in Adult Foster Care, or becoming a caregiver. You may always choose to be contacted by phone or email instead.

Message frequency

Message frequency varies with your conversation and your care. Most people receive a few messages a month.

Cost

Message and data rates may apply, depending on your mobile plan. M&L Prodigy Healthcare does not charge for text messages.

How to stop messages

You can cancel at any time. Reply STOP to any message from us. You can also reply END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, or QUIT. We will send one final message confirming that you have been unsubscribed, and you will receive no further text messages from us unless you choose to join again. To start receiving messages again, reply START or tell our team.

How to get help

Reply HELP to any message for help, call us at (781) 605 4407 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm Eastern), or email jndansi@mlphealthcare.org.

Your mobile information is never shared for marketing

Health information in text messages

Standard text messaging is not encrypted. We keep health details out of text messages wherever possible and share only the minimum necessary information, such as the time of a visit. If you would prefer that we never text about care, tell us and we will use another method.

Carriers and delivery

Mobile carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Delivery depends on your carrier and device, and we cannot guarantee that every message will arrive. Text messaging is not an emergency service. In an emergency, call 911.

Changing or giving up your number

If you change or give up your mobile number, please reply STOP from that number first, or let us know, so that messages meant for you do not reach someone else.

5. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only as described here:

• MassHealth and its contracted agencies, as required to determine eligibility, enroll members, authorize services, and administer the caregiver stipend.
• Your care team and referring professionals, such as a member’s physician, case manager, or discharge planner, when needed to coordinate care and as permitted by law, including HIPAA.
• Service providers that work on our behalf under contracts that limit how they may use the information, such as our website host, secure database provider, business phone and text messaging provider and the carriers that deliver messages, and email provider. They may use the information only to provide services to us.
• Legal and safety reasons, when required by law, subpoena, or court order, to report suspected abuse or neglect as Massachusetts law requires, to protect someone’s health or safety, or to protect our rights and prevent fraud.
• Business changes, if M&L Prodigy Healthcare is involved in a merger, acquisition, or transfer of its program, subject to the same protections described here.
• With your permission, in any other case.

None of these categories includes sharing your mobile number or text messaging consent for anyone’s marketing. See section 4.

6. Health information and HIPAA

M&L Prodigy Healthcare is a covered entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Protected Health Information about our members, including care plans, clinical visit notes, and MassHealth information, is used and disclosed only as HIPAA and Massachusetts law allow, and as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

Members receive the Notice of Privacy Practices at enrollment. Anyone may request a copy at any time by calling (781) 605 4407 or emailing jndansi@mlphealthcare.org. The Notice explains your rights to see and get a copy of your health records, ask for corrections, request limits on how we share information, receive confidential communications, get a list of certain disclosures, and file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will never retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

We never identify a member in our marketing or public materials without their written authorization.

7. Your choices and rights

• Text messages: reply STOP at any time, as described in section 4.
• Email and calls: ask us to stop, and we will, except for messages we must send to administer services you are receiving.
• Access and correction: ask what information we hold about you and ask us to correct anything that is wrong.
• Deletion: ask us to delete information you gave us through our website or text messages. We will do so unless the law, MassHealth program rules, or our record keeping obligations require us to keep it, in which case we will tell you.
• Health records: members have the additional rights listed in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

To make a request, contact us using the details in section 13. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request, and we will respond within a reasonable time and as the law requires.

8. How we protect information

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal and health information, consistent with HIPAA and the Massachusetts data security regulation, 201 CMR 17.00. These include encrypted connections to our website, access controls that limit records to staff who need them, and service providers bound by confidentiality obligations. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a breach affects your information, we will notify you as the law requires.

9. How long we keep information

We keep information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy. Inquiries that do not lead to enrollment are kept for a limited period and then deleted. Member and caregiver records are kept for the periods required by MassHealth program rules, HIPAA, and other applicable laws, and are then securely disposed of.

10. Children

Our website and text messaging program are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Other websites

Our website may link to websites we do not control, such as MassHealth or government resources. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, and we encourage you to read them.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the date at the top of this page, and for material changes we will take reasonable steps to let you know. Changes that affect text messaging will never apply to consent you gave before the change without giving you the chance to opt out.

13. Contact us

For questions about this policy, text messaging, or your information, or to make a privacy request, contact our privacy contact:

Language assistance is available at no cost. Call us and tell us your preferred language.