Privacy Policy

Healthcare Consumer First, LLC

Effective Date: January 1, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Healthcare Consumer First, LLC ("Healthcare Consumer First," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, shares, and protects information when you use our websites, mobile applications, products, and services, including services offered under the HCC FIRST name (collectively, the "Service").

Healthcare Consumer First is designed to help consumers organize, understand, review, and resolve medical bills and related healthcare documents. We take the privacy and security of your personal, financial, and health information seriously.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of information:

• Account and contact information, including your name, email address, telephone number, mailing address, date of birth, and login credentials.
• Healthcare and billing documents, including medical bills, itemized statements, explanations of benefits, insurance correspondence, denial letters, payment records, provider communications, and other documents you upload or provide.
• Health and insurance information, including provider names, dates of service, insurance plan information, claim information, diagnosis or procedure information contained in submitted documents, and amounts billed, allowed, paid, or owed.
• Authorization and consent records, including documents authorizing us to communicate with healthcare providers, insurers, billing companies, or other parties on your behalf.
• Payment information, including information needed to process fees or maintain a payment method. Payment card information may be collected and processed by our payment service providers rather than stored directly by Healthcare Consumer First.
• Communications, including messages you send through the Service, customer support communications, and records of communications related to bill review or negotiation services.
• Usage and device information, including device type, browser type, operating system, IP address, application activity, and privacy-conscious analytics information.
• Messaging preferences, including your consent to receive email, SMS, or other communications and your opt-in or opt-out selections.

2. How We Use Information

We may use information to:

• Create and manage your account.
• Receive, store, organize, and analyze healthcare and billing documents.
• Compare medical bills with explanations of benefits, insurance information, and other available records.
• Identify possible billing errors, discrepancies, savings opportunities, or matters requiring additional information.
• Communicate with healthcare providers, insurers, billing companies, collection agencies, or other authorized parties on your behalf.
• Negotiate medical bills or assist with payment arrangements when you authorize us to do so.
• Provide status updates, reminders, alerts, and other Service-related communications.
• Process payments and calculate fees based on savings achieved, where applicable.
• Respond to support requests and communicate with you about your account.
• Protect the security, integrity, and proper operation of the Service.
• Detect fraud, abuse, security incidents, or violations of our agreements.
• Comply with legal, regulatory, contractual, and recordkeeping obligations.
• Improve the Service using aggregated, statistical, or de-identified information.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your medical bills, healthcare documents, or protected health information for targeted advertising.

3. Children's Information

The Service is not intended for use directly by children under 18.

A parent or legal guardian may submit information concerning a minor when the parent or guardian has the legal authority to act on the minor's behalf. The parent or guardian is responsible for providing any required authorization or consent.

We seek to limit the collection of information concerning minors to information reasonably necessary to provide the Service. A parent or legal guardian may contact us to request access to, correction of, or deletion of a minor's information, subject to applicable legal and recordkeeping requirements.

4. How We Share Information

We may share information in the following circumstances:

• At your direction or with your authorization, including with healthcare providers, hospitals, physician groups, insurers, billing companies, collection agencies, financial assistance programs, or other parties involved in your medical bill.
• With service providers, including companies that provide document storage, cloud hosting, payment processing, electronic signature, analytics, customer support, messaging, security, and other operational services.
• With professional advisors, including attorneys, accountants, auditors, consultants, and insurers when reasonably necessary.
• For legal and safety purposes, including when disclosure is required by law, subpoena, court order, regulatory request, or other legal process, or when reasonably necessary to protect the rights, safety, property, or security of Healthcare Consumer First, our users, or others.
• In connection with a business transaction, such as a merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, sale of assets, or similar transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection requirements.

Service providers are permitted to use information only as necessary to perform services for us or as otherwise permitted by law. Where protected health information is involved and legally required, we use appropriate contractual protections, which may include business associate agreements.

Email and SMS may not be fully secure. We generally use these channels for account notifications, verification codes, document requests, status updates, and links directing you to the secure Service. We seek to limit sensitive health or billing information included directly in ordinary email or SMS messages.

5. Security and Data Storage

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards intended to protect information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, or misuse.

These safeguards may include:

• Encryption of information during transmission.
• Encryption of stored information where appropriate.
• Role-based and least-privilege access controls.
• Authentication and account-security measures.
• Logging and monitoring of system activity.
• Separation of customer information within our systems.
• Vendor security and confidentiality requirements.
• Backup, recovery, and incident-response procedures.

No system can guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and notifying us promptly if you believe your account or information has been compromised.

Information may be processed and stored in the United States by Healthcare Consumer First and our service providers.

6. Retention and Your Choices

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Provide the Service.
• Maintain your account and document history.
• Complete bill reviews, negotiations, payment arrangements, or other requested services.
• Comply with legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, insurance, contractual, and recordkeeping obligations.
• Resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.
• Protect against fraud, abuse, and security incidents.

You may request access to, correction of, export of, or deletion of information by using available account settings or contacting us at info@hccfirst.com.

Deletion requests may be subject to a limited recovery period before permanent removal. Certain records may be retained after an account is closed when required or permitted by law, including authorization records, consent records, transaction records, security logs, audit records, and records related to completed services or disputes.

Deleting your account may prevent us from completing an active bill review, negotiation, or other requested service.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights concerning your personal information, including the right to:

• Request access to information we maintain about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Request deletion of certain information.
• Request a portable copy of certain information.
• Restrict or object to certain processing.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Opt out of certain disclosures or uses of personal information.
• Appeal a decision concerning a privacy request.
• Submit a complaint without being discriminated against for exercising a privacy right.

These rights may be subject to exceptions and verification requirements.

To submit a privacy request, contact info@hccfirst.com. We may need to verify your identity before processing the request.

8. Messaging Preferences

You control your email and SMS communication preferences.

You may:

• Reply STOP to opt out of promotional SMS messages.
• Reply HELP for assistance with SMS messages.
• Use the unsubscribe link included in promotional emails.
• Update available communication preferences through your account settings.
• Contact us at info@hccfirst.com.

You may continue to receive transactional or Service-related communications that are necessary to operate your account, protect its security, respond to your requests, or provide services you have requested.

Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency may vary.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in the Service, our business practices, technology, or applicable law.

When we make changes, we will update the effective date and post the revised Privacy Policy through the Service. We may provide additional notice of material changes through email, the Service, or another appropriate method.

10. Contact Us

Questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices may be directed to:

Healthcare Consumer First, LLC

Email: info@hccfirst.com

Mailing Address: 1500 1st Ave N, Birmingham, AL 35203