Terms of Use
1. The Terms and Conditions of Use
The following are the Terms and Conditions (the "Agreement") which govern your access and use of our online platform through which patient advocacy may be provided (collectively the "Platform"). This website is owned and operated by Consumer Health Advocacy, Inc. (“CHA”) located at 955 Massachusetts Avenue, #158, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (admin@UmbraHealthAdvocacy.com). The Platform may be provided or be accessible via multiple websites or applications whether owned and/or operated by us or by third parties, including, without limitation, the website umbrahealthadvocacy.com, aphadvocates.org, advoconnection.com, and related sites and applications.
By accessing or using the Platform, you are entering into this Agreement. You should read this Agreement carefully before starting to use the Platform. If you do not agree to be bound to any term of this Agreement, you must not access the Platform.
When the terms "we", "us", "our" or similar are used in this Agreement, they refer to CHA.
2. The Advocate Services
The Platform may be used to connect you with an Advocate who will provide services to you through the Platform (“Advocate Services”).
For Advocate Services You Purchase through the Platform
We require every Advocate providing Advocate Services on the Platform to be qualified in the specific Advocate Services they offer through our Platform. Qualifications may be evidenced by their years of experience providing these and related services, relevant academic degrees, relevant professional certification/s, and/or relevant prior professional experience, or some combination thereof.
If you purchase Advocate Services through the Platform, we will match you with an Advocate with these qualifications. Further, every Advocate available to match you with has signed the Health Advocates Code via the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates and/or they have signed on to the Code of Ethics through the Coalition of Health Advocacy Organizations.
The Advocates are independent subcontractors or independent providers who are neither our employees nor agents nor representatives. The Platform’s role is limited to enabling the Advocate Services. The Advocates themselves are responsible for the performance of the Advocate Services. If you feel the Advocate Services provided by the Advocate do not fit your needs or expectations, you may change to a different Advocate who provides services through the Platform. If an Advocate you have been matched with stops using the Platform at any time after you have been connected, we will send an email to notify you that your Advocate is no longer on the Platform and that you have the opportunity to match with a new Advocate.
While we hope the Advocate Services are beneficial to you, you understand, agree and acknowledge that they may not be the appropriate solution for everyone’s needs and that they may not be appropriate for every particular situation.
IF YOU OR IF YOU FEEL THAT ANY OTHER PERSON MAY BE IN ANY DANGER OR IF YOU HAVE ANY MEDICAL EMERGENCY, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY CALL YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY SERVICES NUMBER AND NOTIFY THE RELEVANT AUTHORITIES. THE PLATFORM IS NOT DESIGNED FOR USE IN ANY OF THE AFOREMENTIONED CASES AND THE ADVOCATES CANNOT PROVIDE THE ASSISTANCE REQUIRED IN ANY OF THE AFOREMENTIONED CASES.
You are always advised to exercise a high level of care and caution when making any mental health or medical decision. You should never disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical advice from your primary doctor or other qualified healthcare provider, solely because of information you saw on the Platform or advice you received through an Advocate. If you feel that an Advocate does not meet your expectations, you may change to a different Advocate at any time.
Other than the guidance and advice you receive directly to you from your healthcare provider, the graphics, educational and research sources and other incidental information on the Platform should not be considered medical advice. You should always talk to an appropriately qualified health care professional for diagnosis and treatment, including information regarding which medications or treatment may be appropriate for you.
No Guarantee of Results
You understand that there is no implied or stated guarantee of success in achieving goals for care, whether goals include obtaining healthcare access, medical debt relief or other financial assistance, health and wellness goals, or other goals for which you might engage Advocate Services. Advocates exercise their professional judgment but you recognize that you are responsible for making your own healthcare decisions. The Advocate is not responsible for the outcome of these decisions, even if they have provided you their professional opinion, guidance, or recommendations.
Confidentiality
You may share personal information and protected health information (PHI) with the Advocate. All PHI or other personal information you share with an Advocate will be kept confidential. Your PHI will only be shared with other healthcare professionals with your consent, which you are not required to provide.
For Advocate Services you obtain directly from Advocates via the Advocate Directory
We operate an Advocate Directory with listings of individual Advocates and companies in which Advocates are employed. The information contained in this Platform, and its associated websites is provided as a service to patients and their loved ones or caregivers, and does not offer medical advice, nor an endorsement of the services provided by the individuals or companies listed in the Advocate Directory.
We strive to provide quality information, but we make no claims or promises, nor do we guarantee the accuracy or adequacy of the information contained in, or linked to or from, this website or its associated sites. In particular, we make no guarantees about the quality of service provided by the listed entities or advertisers on this site. We provide listings and advertising solely as a directory service making contact information available.
Medical, financial, and legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case, therefore, nothing provided herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent medical, financial or legal advisors.
Terms of Use of the Advocate Directory
You may use the Advocate Directory to provide or learn information about health and patient advocates and care managers, to contact them for help, and to submit ratings and reviews.
You may not (directly or indirectly) use the Advocate Directory in any manner that
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- is confidential or proprietary;
- discloses or solicits the private information of any person;
- harvests, mines, or otherwise collects information about others, including email addresses, without their consent;
- is threatening, abusive, harassing, stalking, or defamatory;
- is deceptive, false, misleading or fraudulent;
- is invasive of a listed professional’s privacy or otherwise violates a listed professional’s legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity);
- contains vulgar, obscene, indecent or unlawful material;
- infringes a third party’s intellectual property right(s);
- publishes, posts, uploads, or otherwise distributes any software, music, videos, or other material protected by intellectual property laws (or by rights of privacy or publicity) unless you have all necessary rights and consents to do so;
- uploads files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another person’s computer;
- downloads any file that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in that way;
- falsifies or deletes any author attributions, legal or proprietary designations, labels of the origin or source of software, or other material contained in a file that is uploaded;
- damages, disables, overburdens, or impairs any of our website or interferes with any other party’s use and enjoyment of those properties;
- is legally actionable between private parties;
- is in violation of any applicable law or regulation.
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Suspension and Notice of Violations
We may immediately suspend use of the Advocate Directory at any time without notice, for actual or suspected violations of the terms contained above. This right is in addition to those other rights of suspension and removal that we otherwise have.
Ratings and Reviews
We reserve the right to publish, or not publish, any rating or review you may post on this site about any profiled advocate. We use these ratings and reviews first and foremost to help listed advocates improve their service to the people who hire them. Secondarily, we post those reviews that speak to the skills and successes of an advocate-client relationship.
We do not post reviews that focus on pricing or billing disputes between the client and advocate because they do not relate to the services provided.
If our information practices change in a significant way, we will post and highlight the policy changes.
3. Privacy and Security
Protecting and safeguarding any information you provide through the Platform is extremely important to us. Information about our security and privacy practices can be found on our Privacy Policy available at (the “Privacy Policy”).
BY AGREEING TO THIS AGREEMENT AND/OR BY USING THE PLATFORM, YOU ARE ALSO AGREEING TO THE TERMS OF THE PRIVACY POLICY. THE PRIVACY POLICY IS INCORPORATED INTO AND DEEMED A PART OF THIS AGREEMENT. THE SAME RULES THAT APPLY REGARDING CHANGES AND REVISIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT ALSO APPLY TO CHANGES AND REVISIONS OF THE PRIVACY POLICY.
4. Third Party Content
The Platform may contain other content, products or services which are offered or provided by third parties ("Third Party Content"), links to Third Party Content (including but not limited to links to other websites) or advertisements which are related to Third Party Content. We have no responsibility for the creation of any such Third Party Content, including (but not limited to) any related products, practices, terms or policies, and we will not be liable for any damage or loss caused by any Third Party Content.
5. Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU HEREBY RELEASE US AND AGREE TO HOLD US HARMLESS FROM ANY AND ALL CAUSES OF ACTION AND CLAIMS OF ANY NATURE RESULTING FROM THE ADVOCATE SERVICES OR THE PLATFORM, INCLUDING (WITHOUT LIMITATION) ANY ACT, OMISSION, OPINION, RESPONSE, ADVICE, SUGGESTION, INFORMATION AND/OR SERVICE OF ANY ADVOCATE AND/OR ANY OTHER CONTENT OR INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE PLATFORM. YOU UNDERSTAND, AGREE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, SECURITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR ACCURACY. THE USE OF THE PLATFORM IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. YOU UNDERSTAND, AGREE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES.
YOU UNDERSTAND, AGREE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES ARISING WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY AND ALL USE OF THE PLATFORM WILL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY PAID BY YOU OR ON YOUR BEHALF THROUGH THE PLATFORM IN THE THREE (3) MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE CLAIM.
If the applicable law does not allow the limitation of liability as set forth above, the limitation will be deemed modified solely to the extent necessary to comply with applicable law.
This section (limitation of liability) shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement.
6. Fees and subscriptions
We offer different fees for different services. Some services are one-time and others are available on a subscription basis. You must pay for any one-time service before you receive the service.
Any type of subscription you choose will be billed monthly and continue and automatically renew until you cancel the membership. By choosing a recurring Membership Service, you acknowledge that such paid services have a recurring payment and you accept responsibility for all recurring charges prior to cancellation.
You agree to pay all fees and charges on a timely basis in accordance with the fee schedule for each product or service you purchase, as published on UmbraHealthAdvocacy.com or AdvoConnection.com, and the terms and rates published by CHA from time to time. Such fees and charges (including any taxes and late fees, as applicable) may be charged to the payment method you provided during the initial setup of your account. You agree to provide and if applicable, maintain valid payment information in your account. By providing CHA with payment information, you authorize CHA to bill and charge your credit card or other payment method.
You can cancel any subscription you purchase at any time for any reason. Your membership must be canceled before it renews in order to avoid the next billing cycle. We reserve the right to change our fees, including subscription fees, or adjust prices of the Advocacy Services. Any changes to your Advocacy Services will only take effect following proper notice to you.
Fees are not contingent on outcome and are non-refundable.
7. Your account, representations, conduct and commitments
You hereby confirm that you are legally able to consent to receive Advocate Services and are legally able to enter into a contract.
You hereby confirm and agree that all the information that you provided in or through the Platform, and the information that you will provide in or through the Platform in the future, is accurate, true, current and complete. Furthermore, you agree that during the term of this Agreement you will make sure to maintain and update this information so it will continue to be accurate, current and complete.
You agree, confirm and acknowledge that you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and any other security information related to your account (collectively "Account Access"). If you create an account on the Umbra Health Advocacy secure portal, we advise you to change your password frequently and to take extra care in safeguarding your password.
You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your Account Access or any other concern for breach of your account security.
You agree, confirm and acknowledge that we will not be liable for any loss or damage that incurred as a result of someone else using your account, either with or without your consent and/or knowledge.
You agree, confirm and acknowledge that you are solely and fully liable and responsible for all activities performed using your Account Access. You further acknowledge and agree that we will hold you liable and responsible for any damage or loss incurred as a result of the use of your Account Access by any person whether authorized by you or not, and you agree to indemnify us for any such damage or loss.
You agree and commit not to use the account or Account Access of any other person for any reason unless you are purchasing and organizing Advocate Services on behalf of someone for whom you are authorized to do so.
You agree and confirm that your use of the Platform, including the Advocate Services, are for your own personal use only and that you are not using the Platform or the Advocate Services for or behalf of any other person or organization except as described above (for the benefit of someone for whom you are authorized to purchase and/or organize Advocate Services).
You agree and commit not to interfere with or disrupt, or attempt to interfere with or disrupt, any of our systems, services, servers, networks or infrastructure, or any of the Platform's systems, services, servers, networks or infrastructure, including without limitation obtaining unauthorized access to the aforementioned.
You agree and commit not to make any use of the Platform for the posting, sending or delivering of either of the following: (a) unsolicited email and/or advertisement or promotion of goods and services; (b) malicious software or code; (c) unlawful, harassing, privacy invading, abusive, threatening, vulgar, obscene, racist or potentially harmful content; (d) any content that infringes a third party right including intellectual property rights; (e) any content that may cause damage to a third party; (f) any content which may constitute, cause or encourage a criminal action or violate any applicable law.
You agree and commit not to violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, statute, ordinance, rule, regulation or ethical code in relation to your use of the Platform and your relationship with the Advocates and us.
If you receive any file from us or from an Advocate, whether through the Platform or not, you agree to check and scan this file for any virus or malicious software prior to opening or using this file.
You will indemnify us, defend us, and hold us harmless from and against any and all claims, losses, causes of action, demands, liabilities, costs or expenses (including, but not limited to, litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses) arising out of or relating to any of the following: (a) your access to or use of the Platform; (b) any actions made with your account or Account Access whether by you or by someone else; (c) your violation of any of the provisions of this Agreement; (d) non-payment for any of the services (including Advocate Services) which were provided through the Platform; (e) your violation of any third party right, including, without limitation, any intellectual property right, publicity, confidentiality, property or privacy right. This clause shall survive expiration or termination of this Agreement.
You confirm and agree to use only credit cards or other payment means (collectively “Payment Means”) which you are duly and fully authorized to use, and that all payment related information that you provided and will provide in the future, to or through the Platform, is accurate, current and correct and will continue to be accurate, current and correct.
You agree to pay all fees and charges associated with your Account on a timely basis and according to the fees schedule, the terms and the rates as published in the Platform. By providing us with your Payment Means you authorize us to bill and charge you through that Payment Means and you agree to maintain valid Payment Means information in your Account information.
8. Modifications, Termination, Interruption and Disruptions to the Platform
You understand, agree and acknowledge that we may modify, suspend, disrupt or discontinue the Platform, any part of the Platform or the use of the Platform, whether to all consumers or to you specifically, at any time with or without notice to you. You agree and acknowledge that we will not be liable for any of the aforementioned actions or for any losses or damages that are caused by any of the aforementioned actions.
The Platform depends on various factors such as software, hardware and tools, either our own or those owned and/or operated by our contractors and suppliers. While we make commercially reasonable efforts to ensure the Platform’s reliability and accessibility, you understand and agree that no platform can be 100% reliable and accessible and so we cannot guarantee that access to the Platform will be uninterrupted or that it will be accessible, consistent, timely or error-free at all times.
9. Export Controls and Sanctions
CHA products may be subject to US export and re-export control laws and regulations or similar laws applicable in other jurisdictions, including the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") maintained by the US Department of Commerce, trade and economic sanctions maintained by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR") maintained by the US Department of State. You warrant that you are (1) not located in any country to which the United States has embargoed goods or has otherwise applied any economic sanctions; and (2) not a denied party as specified in any applicable export or re-export laws or regulations or similar laws applicable in other jurisdictions or otherwise listed on any US government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
You agree to comply with all applicable export and reexport control laws and regulations, including without limitation the EAR and trade and economic sanctions maintained by OFAC. Specifically, you agree not to – directly or indirectly – use, sell, export, reexport, transfer, divert, release, or otherwise dispose of any products, software, or technology (including products derived from or based on such technology) received from CHA under these Terms to any destination, entity, or person or for any end-use prohibited by the EAR, trade and economic sanctions maintained by OFAC, or any applicable laws or regulations of the United States or any other jurisdiction without obtaining any required prior authorization from the competent government authorities as required by those laws and regulations.
10. Notices
We may provide notices or other communications to you regarding this agreement or any aspect of the Platform, by email to the email address that we have on record, by regular mail or by posting it online. The date of receipt shall be deemed the date on which such notice is given. Notices sent to us must be delivered by email to admin@umbrahealthadvocacy.com.
11. Intellectual Property
All content available on or through the Platform is the property of CHA or its licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property law. You agree not to reproduce, modify, retransmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, exploit, publish, broadcast, or circulate the content received through the Platform to any third party.
12. Important notes about our Agreement
This Agreement and our relationship with you shall both be interpreted solely in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware excluding any rules governing choice of laws.
You irrevocably agree that the exclusive venue for any action or proceeding arising out of relating to this Agreement or our relationship with you, regardless of theory, shall be the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, or the state courts located in [Middlesex] County in Massachusetts. You irrevocably consent to the personal jurisdiction of the aforementioned courts and hereby waive any objection to the exercise of jurisdiction by the aforementioned courts. Nothing in this Agreement, including the choice of the laws of the State of Delaware, affects your statutory rights as a consumer to rely on the mandatory consumer protection provisions contained in the law of the country in which you live.
THIS AGREEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND US. YOU CONFIRM THAT YOU HAVE NOT RELIED UPON ANY PROMISES OR REPRESENTATIONS BY US EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT.
We may change this Agreement by posting modifications on the Platform. Unless otherwise specified by us, all modifications shall be effective upon posting. Therefore, you are encouraged to check the terms of this Agreement frequently. The last update date of this Agreement is posted at the bottom of the Agreement. By using the Platform after the changes become effective, you agree to be bound by such changes to the Agreement. If you do not agree to the changes, you must terminate access to the Platform and participation in its services.
We may freely transfer or assign this Agreement or any of its obligations hereunder.
The paragraph headings in this Agreement are solely for the sake of convenience and will not be applied in the interpretation of this Agreement.
If any provision of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, invalid, unenforceable, or otherwise contrary to law, the remaining provisions of this Agreement will remain in full force and effect.
To clear any doubt, all clauses regarding limitations of liabilities and indemnification shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement.
Last Updated: January 2023