The Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of visitors of its website, www.dmecompetitivebid.com. Throughout our site, we want to contribute to providing a safe environment for visitors.
You do not need to provide personal information to visit our site. Should you choose to share personal information with us, however, please be aware that, at this time, our site is unsecured. While the CBIC makes every attempt to protect the personal information that you may share with us, electronic mail is currently not secure against interception. If your communication contains Medicare identification numbers, bid-specific information, or any other confidential information, you may want to contact the CBIC customer service center at 877-577-5331 or send your inquiry by postal mail instead.
Cookies
What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small piece of information that is sent to your browser – along with a web page – when you access a website. There are two kinds of cookies. A session cookie is a line of text that is stored temporarily in your computer’s memory. A session cookie is destroyed as soon as you close your browser. A persistent cookie is a more permanent line of text that gets saved by your browser to a file on your hard drive.
The CBIC uses session cookies only. We do not use any persistent cookies.
The CBIC's Use of Cookies
Cookies are used to remember your viewing preferences on this site. It allows us to be more efficient. We can learn what information is important to you, our visitor. We can discard web pages you don’t use and focus our efforts on information you need.
If you do not have cookies enabled, you may not be able to view all pages on our site. If you do have cookies enabled, your preferences will be saved for the entire visit to the site. This preference will not be saved between site visits, however.
We have set our software so that your browser will only return cookie information to the domain where the cookie originated (in this case, www.dmecompetitivebid.com). No other site can request it. Note: Regardless of the particular uses for cookies on our site, we will not share any cookie information with any third parties.
Changing Cookie Preferences
You can order your browser to accept all cookies or to alert you every time a cookie is offered. Then you can decide whether to accept one or not.
If you're using Internet Explorer 7.0 - 10.0:
- Choose "Tools," then
- "Internet Options."
- Click the "Privacy" tab.
- Under "Settings," move the slider to select one of the following privacy options: "High," "Medium High," "Medium" (default level), "Low," and "Accept All Cookies."
- You can also add this site to the list of allowed websites by selecting "Sites" on the "Privacy" tab, typing www.dmecompetitivebid.com in the "Address of Web site" field, and clicking "Allow." You do not have to adjust your privacy options if you opt to add this site to the list of allowed websites.
If you're using Mozilla Firefox:
- Choose "Tools," then
- "Options."
- Click the "Privacy" tab.
- In the "Firefox will:" dropdown menu, select "Use custom settings for history."
- Select "Accept cookies from sites" and "Accept third party cookies."
- Select an expiration time under "Keep until."
- Click "OK" to close.
If you're using Google Chrome:
- Click the wrench icon on the browser toolbar.
- Select "Options" ("Preferences" on Mac and Linux; "Settings" on Chrome OS).
- Click the "Under the Hood" tab.
- Click the "Content Settings" button in the "Privacy" section.
- Click the "Cookies" tab in the "Content Settings" dialog box that appears.
- Select "Allow local data to be set."
- Make sure "Block all third-party cookies without exceptions" is not checked.
- You can also add this site to the list of allowed websites by selecting "Manage exceptions." Type www.dmecompetitivebid.com in the "Pattern" field and select "Allow" in the "Action" dropdown menu. You do not have to adjust your privacy options if you opt to add this site to the list of allowed websites.
- Close the pop-up window.
If you're using Safari 6.0 or Higher:
- Choose "Safari," then
- "Preferences"
- For "Accept Cookies," select "Always" or "Only from sites you navigate to."
- Close the pop-up window.
Links
As you navigate this site, you will be able to link to other affiliated sites. Please note that the CBIC provides these links for your convenience, but inclusion of the link does not imply endorsement by the CBIC. Furthermore, the linked sites are not under our control, and we are not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained as a linked site. For this reason, we encourage you to look at the privacy policies of those specific sites.
Federal Privacy Act of 1974
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was enacted in 1967 as an amendment to the "Public Information" section of the Administrative Procedures Act. The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act was to reach a workable balance between the right of the public to know and the need of the government to keep information in confidence, to the extent necessary, without permitting indiscriminate secrecy.
The Privacy Act of 1974 can be accessed through the CMS website at https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Computer-Data-and-Systems/Privacy/PrivacyActof1974.html. The Privacy Act of 1974 requires agencies to:
a. Publish in the Federal Register annual notice of the existence and character of any system of records from which information is retrieved by some personal identifier.
b. Itemize in the public notice the "routine uses" of the records contained in a system of records, including the categories of customers and the purpose of such use. No other use or disclosure of the information shall be made without the express written consent of the individual to whom the record pertains.
c. Establish procedures for granting individuals access to records or information pertaining to them and for reviewing requests from individuals concerning the amendment of any records pertaining to them. A requester may ask the agency to review the agency’s initial adverse determination. If the review is again adverse, the agency then must advise the requester of his/her right to seek judicial review.
d. Establish procedures governing the collection, safeguarding, and maintenance of personal information.
Disclosure
We do not use or disclose information about your individual visits to this site or information that you may give us, such as your name, address, e-mail address, or telephone number, to any outside company or organization. Again, please be aware that, at this time, electronic mail is currently not secure against interception.
Privacy Policy Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy for this site, we will post those changes here so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information, and whether we will disclose it to anyone.
As we move forward in developing new products and services in an era of vast technological change, the CBIC will continue to maintain our dedication to assuring that visitor information is properly used, maintained and appropriately safeguarded.