Privacy Policy

This privacy policy applies to information Health Care Cost Institute (“we” “us” “our” or “HCCI”) may collect from website users (“you”) when you visit the website healthprices.org. It describes (i) the types of information we may collect; (ii) how we collect such information; (iii) how we may use the information we collect; and (iv) to whom we may disclose information.

Please read this policy carefully. By accessing or using our site, you agree to this privacy policy.

Information We May Collect and How We Collect It

We collect information in two ways: (i) directly from you when you provide it to us; and (ii) automatically through the use of technology as you navigate through our site.

Information You Provide To Us

Information you provide to us may include the following: search queries, zip code, feedback you provide to us in our Was This Helpful feature.

Information Collected Through Technology

We may also automatically collect information including the following:

We collect certain information by automated means, such as cookies and web beacons, when you visit our site. For example, we use cookies and web beacons through our use of Google Analytics, a web metrics service of Google, Inc. For information about how Google, Inc. collects and processes data for its Google Analytics service please visit the site “How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps” available at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, or any other URL Google, Inc. may provide from time to time.

The information we collect by automated means includes your IP address, search queries, page views, device and browser type, operating system, referring URLs, destination URLs, information on actions taken on our site, and dates, times and durations of site visits. A cookie is a text file that websites send to your computer or other Internet-connected device to uniquely identify your browser or to store information or settings in your browser. A web beacon, also known as an Internet tag or pixel tag, links web pages to web servers and their cookies and may be used to transmit information collected through cookies back to a web server. Using these tools, we obtain clickstream data, which is a log of the content you visit while browsing our site.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can change your browser settings to prevent these cookies from collecting your personal information. Disabling cookies does not necessarily disable the use of pixel tags, web beacons and other technologies that collect information about your use of the site.

How We Use the Information We Collect

We use this information for lawful purposes only including: providing services to you, making our site more useful to visitors, considering and evaluating additional features and functionality of the site, and for other purposes that we describe when you provide the information.

Information we collect automatically helps us understand how the site is performing, improve the site and deliver a better service. We use this information to evaluate usage patterns, add and change content, make the site more user-friendly, and design and deliver information to visitors quickly and easily, among other things.

Information We May Disclose

We may disclose your information as needed for lawful purposes including to: contractors, service providers and other third parties we use to support our business; our data contributors and other stakeholders; our subsidiaries and affiliates; researchers; or a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution or other sale or transfer of some or all of HCCI’s assets.

We may also disclose your information for the following reasons: to comply with any court order, law or legal process; to fulfill the purpose for which you provide it; for any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information; and with your consent.

We may also publicly disclose aggregated information based on information you provide to us or that we collect automatically. For example, from time to time we may publish or disclose to others the most common search queries or other aggregated statistics.

Third Party Websites

Our site may link to third party sites including other non-profit, educational, governmental and private organizations. HCCI does not control and is not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of these third parties. As a result, we recommend that you carefully review any applicable third party privacy practices, as they may differ from our own.

Any link to a third party website does not constitute an endorsement by HCCI.

Data Security

We have implemented measures designed to secure your information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use and disclosure. However, the transmission of information via the Internet is never completely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to our site and any transmission of information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on our site.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

From time to time we may update this privacy policy. The date the privacy policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page and you are responsible for periodically visiting our site and this privacy policy to check for any changes. Your continued use of the site will be subject to the terms of the then-current privacy policy.

Governing Law

This privacy policy and your use of the site will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of New York, without giving effect to its conflicts of law provisions. By accessing or using the site, you consent and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in New York. A printed version of this privacy policy will be admissible in judicial and administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this privacy policy to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.

Enforceability; Non-waiver

In the event that any provision of this privacy policy conflicts with applicable law, rule, regulation or order or if any provision is held invalid by a court with competent jurisdiction, then such provision will be deemed to be restated to reflect as nearly as possible our original intentions, and the remainder of this privacy policy will remain in full force and effect. Any failure by us to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of the privacy policy or to exercise any right under the privacy policy will not be construed as a waiver or relinquishment of our right to assert or rely upon any such provision or right in that or any other instance, rather, the same will be and remain in full force and effect.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact guroo@healthcostinstitute.org.