When to send this
None of its own, and that is the point: send it BEFORE the next claim is filed. It changes where future paperwork goes and cannot recall what has already been sent.
What to do
Include the endangerment sentence
Include the endangerment sentence. Under 45 CFR 164.522(b)(1)(ii) it is what obliges a plan to accommodate the request rather than merely consider it, and a plan may require the request to contain it. You do not have to explain how or why beyond that one line.
Send the request in writing and keep a copy
Written requests create a record you can point to if a mailing goes to the wrong address later.
Ask explicitly about the portal
Redirecting paper mail does not necessarily remove claims from a policyholder's online account. This is the gap that surprises people.
Get written confirmation before you rely on it
Ask for confirmation of the effective date and of exactly which communications are covered.
The request
[Your name] · [Member ID] · [Date of birth] · [Today's date]
To: [Insurer or plan, member services or privacy officer]
Re: Request for confidential communications
I am requesting that all communications about my health care — including Explanations of Benefits, claim correspondence, and any notices about services I receive — be sent only to me at the address below, and not to the policyholder or any other person on this policy.
Preferred method and address: [your mailing address, email, or portal account].
Disclosure of this information to others on the policy could endanger me. [Keep this sentence. It is not a concession the plan extracts from you — under 45 CFR 164.522(b)(1)(ii) it is the trigger that obliges a health plan to accommodate the request. Without it the request is discretionary and the plan may simply decline. You do NOT have to explain how or why, and nothing requires you to give detail beyond this line. If you would rather not have the statement in your record, that is a real choice — but make it knowing that leaving it out is what makes the request refusable.]
Please confirm in writing: (1) that this request has been accepted; (2) its effective date; (3) exactly which communications it covers; and (4) whether claims involving my care remain visible in any other person's online account for this policy, and what is required to change that.
[Signature] · [Phone]
Both stay on your device. Neither one sends anything to this site.
Common questions
- Do I have to give a reason?
- Include it. Under 45 CFR 164.522(b)(1)(ii) that sentence is what obliges a plan to accommodate the request rather than merely consider it, and a plan may require the request to contain it. You do not have to explain how or why beyond that one line.
- Does this cover the policyholder's online account?
- Often not. Ask about it as a separate question and get the answer in writing.
Where to go next
Sources for the legal points on this page
- Confidential communications: a plan must accommodate if you say disclosure could endanger you
Federal — HIPAA covered entities, including health plans · effective in force
45 CFR 164.522(b)(1)(ii) (health plan accommodation and the endangerment trigger); 164.522(b)(2)(i)-(ii) (a plan may require writing, and may condition on payment handling and an alternative address); 164.522(b)(2)(iii) (a provider may not require an explanation)
Status: settled · source-checked 2026-08-08 · primary source verified: 2026-08-08
Also on this page, without a citation yet
- Whether your plan will honor the request in the form this letter takes, and how fast. The federal standard is in the source block on this page; the mechanics are the plan's own. Confirm in writing that it took effect before the next claim goes in.
These are specific and checkable and we have not yet checked them against a primary source. Treat them as a starting point rather than as settled, and do not put them in an appeal without confirming them.