ExploreCarePricing Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2026

Version: 2.0

Prepared By: Rachel Wrought, Founder & CEO

Jurisdiction: South Dakota, USA

Defined Terms: ExploreCarePricing, LLC (“ExploreCarePricing,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the website located at ExploreCarePricing.com (the “Site” or “Platform”). References to “ExploreCarePricing,” “the Site,” or “the Platform” throughout this Privacy Policy refer collectively to ExploreCarePricing.com and all associated tools, features, content, and services provided by ExploreCarePricing, LLC.

Purpose & Operating Model

We operate a for-profit healthcare intelligence platform dedicated to providing consumer cost-comparison tools using publicly available data. The Site is designed strictly for administrative and educational transparency purposes and does not provide medical, legal, or financial advice.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit and use our website. Please read this policy carefully. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our services.

1. Terms of Engagement & User Responsibilities

1.1 Affirmative Acceptance

By accessing, browsing, or utilizing the search features on the Site, you agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy, our Terms & Conditions, and our Healthcare Disclaimer.

1.2 Acceptable Conduct

Users agree to utilize the platform in a lawful, respectful, and non-disruptive manner. Users strictly agree to:

1. Refrain from transmitting, uploading, or sharing false, misleading, discriminatory, or harmful content
2. Refrain from attempting to breach, bypass, or interfere with restricted areas or security protocols
3. Respect the rights and dignity of other users
4. Report any misuse, technical vulnerabilities, or suspicious activity to support@explorecarepricing.com

2. Data We Collect

2.1 Information You Don’t Provide Through Normal Browsing (We Don’t Collect It Automatically)

The items below reflect what we do not collect through your general use of the Site’s search and browsing features:

What We DON’T collect automatically: - Personal identifiable information (name, address, phone number, email) - Protected health information (PHI) or medical history - Social Security numbers or financial account information - Information requiring login or user accounts (we don’t use them) - Precise geolocation data - Health-related search history or medical conditions

Important exception: If you voluntarily contact us directly — for example, by emailing support@explorecarepricing.com or using a contact form — we will necessarily receive and retain whatever information you choose to include in that correspondence, which may include your name, email address, and the content of your message. See §2.4 below for details on how this information is handled. We do not solicit sensitive information like PHI or financial details through our contact channels, and we encourage you not to include more than necessary to address your inquiry.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Site, we automatically collect certain technical information:

Browser & Device Data: - Browser type and version - Device type (mobile, tablet, desktop) - Operating system - Device identifiers and advertising IDs

Website Usage Data: - Pages visited and time spent on each page - Referral source (how you found us) - Search queries entered on our platform - Links clicked - Approximate geographic location (country/state level only, not precise) - IP address (last octet anonymized for analytics)

Performance Data: - Error messages and technical issues - Site performance metrics - Load times and functionality data

2.3 How We Collect This Information

We collect information through:

1. Cookies — Small files stored on your device (see §4 Cookie Policy)
2. Web Beacons — Tracking pixels used in analytics
3. Google Analytics — Third-party analytics service (see §3)
4. Server Logs — Automatic records of server activity
5. Ad Networks — Google AdSense and other advertisers (see §3)

Some of this information is collected directly by third-party services (like Google Analytics and Google AdSense) operating on our site, under their own privacy practices — see §3 for details.

2.4 Information You Provide Directly (Contact & Support Correspondence)

If you email support@explorecarepricing.com or otherwise contact us directly, we receive and retain: - Your email address and, if provided, your name - The content of your message, including any information you choose to include.

How we use this: - Solely to respond to your inquiry, request, or report - We do not share contact correspondence with advertising networks, analytics providers, or any third party for marketing purposes - We do not use the content of support messages to build user profiles or for ad targeting.

Retention: Contact correspondence is retained only as long as necessary to resolve your inquiry and for a reasonable period afterward for record-keeping (see §7 Data Retention). You may request deletion of this correspondence at any time (see §8).

A note on sensitive information: Please avoid including more sensitive detail than necessary — such as full medical history, Social Security numbers, or complete financial account numbers — when contacting us. If you do include such details, we will handle them with the same care as any other correspondence, but we do not need or request this information to assist you.

3. Advertising Networks & Third-Party Services

3.1 Google AdSense

We use Google AdSense to display advertisements and generate revenue supporting this free platform.

What Google AdSense does: - Displays targeted ads based on your general browsing activity and interests - Uses cookies and similar tracking technologies - Collects data about your interests and demographics - Shares anonymized data with advertisers and ad partners - May show you personalized ads across other websites (remarketing)

Ad Category Restrictions: We have configured our AdSense account to restrict ads to health and wellness-related categories, so you should not see ads for unrelated categories such as gambling, dating, or other topics not relevant to healthcare consumers. Ad category filtering is managed by Google and, while restrictions are applied at the account level, occasional misclassified or mismatched ads may still appear due to factors outside our direct control. If you encounter an ad that seems unrelated to health and wellness content, please report it to support@explorecarepricing.com so we can investigate.

Health-Related Ad Targeting: Google’s advertising policies prohibit advertisers from targeting users based on inferred health conditions, medical history, or sensitive personal categories — regardless of what content a publisher’s site covers. This means your searches on ExploreCarePricing are not used to build a health profile or to serve you ads based on specific procedures or conditions you look up. Ad personalization is based on general interest and browsing data, not on your activity on this site.

Google’s data practices: Google’s Privacy Policy governs how Google uses data collected through AdSense: https://policies.google.com/privacy

For a plain-language explanation of how Google uses information from sites (like ours) that use its services, see: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

Your ad preferences: You can opt out of personalized ads at: https://www.google.com/settings/ads

NOTE: Opting out does not eliminate ads; it only reduces personalization.

3.2 Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our platform and to improve our services.

What Google Analytics collects: - Website traffic patterns and user behavior - Pages visited and time on site - Device and browser information - Geographic location (country/state level) - Referral sources

Data sharing with Google: Google may use this data for its own purposes, subject to Google’s Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Opt out of Google Analytics: You can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

3.3 Other Third-Party Services

We may use other third-party services for analytics, advertising, or site optimization. These services may collect data as described in their own privacy policies.

3.4 Google Maps

We use Google Maps Platform to display interactive maps and healthcare facility locations on our website. This allows users to view the geographic location of hospitals and healthcare facilities and interact with map features.

When Google Maps is used, Google may process information associated with the Maps service, such as device, browser, network, and interaction information, in accordance with Google's applicable policies.

Our website does not request your device's precise location through the browser's geolocation API.

For more information about how Google handles information, please review Google's Privacy Policy and information about Google's location-related data practices.

Google Privacy Policy:

https://policies.google.com/privacy

Google Location Data:

https://policies.google.com/technologies/location-data

4. Cookie Policy & Tracking Technologies

4.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small files stored on your device that allow websites to remember information about you. We use cookies for:

Essential Cookies (Required for site function): - Session management - Security and fraud detection - User preferences (language, display settings) - Site functionality (search state, filters applied) - Expiration: Session-based or 24 hours

Analytics Cookies (Google Analytics): - Track how visitors use the site - Measure site performance and user behavior - Generate usage reports - Expiration: Varies by specific cookie — Google’s primary analytics cookie lasts up to 24 months, while others (e.g., session-identification cookies) expire in 24 hours or less. See Google’s cookie documentation for the complete list: https://business.safety.google/adscookies/

Advertising Cookies (Google AdSense & ad networks): - Track ad performance and clicks - Serve targeted ads based on interests - Prevent duplicate ad displays - Enable remarketing across websites - Expiration: Varies by specific cookie and function, from a few minutes (functionality checks) up to 24 months (core ad-personalization cookies). For the complete, current list of AdSense-related cookies and their exact durations, see Google’s cookie documentation: https://business.safety.google/adscookies/

Third-Party Cookies: - Set by ad networks, analytics providers, and other partners - Used for advertising, analytics, and optimization - Subject to third-party privacy policies - Expiration: Varies by third party

4.2 Managing Cookies

Cookies serve different purposes on our Site — essential cookies keep core functionality working, while advertising cookies (set by Google AdSense) control ad personalization. The options below let you manage these separately; none of them block or prevent access to ExploreCarePricing.com itself.

In your browser (affects all cookies, including essential ones): - Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent - Instructions vary by browser — consult your browser’s Help menu - NOTE: Disabling cookies broadly may affect site functionality (e.g., saved filters or preferences may not persist)

Incognito/Private browsing (affects all cookies for that session): - Use your browser’s private mode to prevent cookies from being stored - Cookies are deleted when you close the browser window.

Opt out of ad personalization specifically (does not affect site functionality): - Google Ads Settings: https://www.google.com/settings/ads - Network Advertising Initiative: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices - Opting out reduces ad personalization, but does not stop ads from displaying, and does not affect any other part of the ExploreCarePricing.com site.

5. How We Use Your Information

We use the data we collect to:

1. Operate the platform — Maintain site functionality and performance
2. Improve user experience — Understand how people use our site
3. Display targeted advertising — Serve relevant ads through Google AdSense
4. Analytics and reporting — Generate usage statistics and insights
5. Fraud detection — Identify and prevent malicious activity
6. Legal compliance — Meet regulatory obligations
7. Platform improvements — Develop new features and optimize existing ones

We do NOT: - Sell personal data to third parties for their own marketing - Share data with healthcare providers or insurers about your site visits - Use your data for medical purposes or to make healthcare recommendations - Combine automated website/browsing data with health information (you don’t provide health info through normal browsing; see §2.1 and §2.4 regarding contact correspondence) - Create detailed user profiles based on health conditions

6. Data Accuracy & Provider Verification

We aggregate healthcare pricing datasets from publicly available Machine-Readable Files (MRFs) and public data sources. While every effort is made to clean, normalize, and keep information current:

1. We cannot guarantee absolute completeness or accuracy due to variations in facility reporting standards
2. Outputs are provided for informational guidance only
3. Users are strongly encouraged to verify final out-of-pocket pricing directly with healthcare providers
4. We welcome user feedback and corrections to refine data quality, please provide this using our Support page or email us at support@explorecarepricing.com

6.1 Data Sources

Our pricing data comes from: - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — Hospital Price Transparency Files - State insurance commissioner databases — State-level pricing transparency - Hospital chargemaster disclosures — Published by hospitals directly - Federal and state healthcare agency datasets — Public transparency initiatives

We do not collect data directly from healthcare providers or insurers about individual patients.

7. Data Retention

We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary to provide and improve our services, maintain security, comply with legal obligations, and resolve disputes.

Google Analytics: Our current Google Analytics configuration retains event-level data for 2 months and user-related data for up to 14 months. These settings may be updated from time to time based on our operational and privacy requirements.When applicable retention periods expire, information is deleted, anonymized, or aggregated, as appropriate, in accordance with our data-management practices and the capabilities of the applicable service provider.

8. User Data Rights & Requests

8.1 Your Privacy Rights

You have the right to:

1. Access: Request what personal data we hold about you
2. Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate data
3. Deletion: Request deletion of your data (with some exceptions for legal/security reasons)
4. Portability: Receive your data in a portable format
5. Opt-out: Limit use of your data for advertising or analytics

8.2 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at:

Email: support@explorecarepricing.com

Subject Line: “Privacy Request - [Type of Request]”

Include: - Your name and contact information - Specific request (access, deletion, correction, etc.) - Any relevant details (pages visited, dates, etc.)

We will: - Respond within 30 business days - Verify your identity (to prevent unauthorized requests) - Provide requested information in a clear format - Explain if we cannot fulfill a request and why

Verification Note: Because ExploreCarePricing does not use accounts or logins, we verify requests using the email address and any details you provide (such as approximate dates or pages visited). This process has limits — if we cannot reasonably confirm a request is legitimate, we may decline it or ask for additional information.

9. State Privacy Rights

9.1 California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you’re a California resident, you have the right to:

1. Know what personal data we collect
2. Delete your personal data (with exceptions)
3. Opt-out of data sales (note: we do not sell your data)
4. Non-discrimination — We won’t discriminate against you for exercising these rights

To exercise California privacy rights, contact: support@explorecarepricing.com

9.2 Other State Privacy Laws

Other states (Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia) have similar privacy laws. If you’re in one of these states, you have similar rights to access, delete, and control your data.

9.3 Do Not Track (DNT)

Some browsers include a “Do Not Track” feature. We currently do not respond to DNT signals, but you can opt out of personalized ads and cookies through the methods described in this policy.

10. Children’s Privacy (COPPA)

10.1 Age Restriction

The Site is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

10.2 Parental Notification

If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided personal information to us (for example, through a contact or support email), we will:

1. Delete the identifying information from our records (such as the email or message) to the extent it is reasonably identifiable
2. Not use the information for any purpose
3. Notify the parent or guardian who reported it, confirming the action taken

A note on technical limits: ExploreCarePricing does not use accounts, logins, or profiles, so most data our Site automatically collects (such as analytics or advertising cookies) is anonymous and not linked to any identifiable individual, including by age. We cannot retroactively identify or delete anonymous technical data as belonging to a specific person. Our COPPA obligations apply to identifiable information we actually receive and can act on — such as a name or email address submitted directly to us — not to anonymous, aggregate technical data we have no way to trace back to a specific visitor.

If you believe a child under 13 has provided information to us, please contact: support@explorecarepricing.com

11. Data Security & Breach Notification

11.1 Security Measures

We maintain industry-standard security practices to protect your data:

1. Secure HTTPS encryption for all website communications
2. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
3. Limited employee access to personal data
4. Secure data storage and backup procedures
5. Monitoring for unauthorized access attempts

11.2 Data Breach Notification

In the event of a security breach affecting personal information, we will:

1. Notify affected users without unreasonable delay (within 30-60 days) — directly where we have contact information (e.g., if you’ve corresponded with us via email or a support request), and through a prominent notice on our website for all other cases, since we do not maintain user accounts or a general mailing list
2. Describe the breach — What happened and what information was affected
3. Provide mitigation steps — What we’re doing to prevent future breaches
4. Offer credit monitoring — In the unlikely event financial or identity-related information is compromised (note: we do not collect Social Security numbers or financial account information in the ordinary course of operating the Site — see §2.1)
5. Report to authorities — Comply with state and federal notification laws

For security concerns or suspected breaches, contact: support@explorecarepricing.com

12. Limitations of Liability

ExploreCarePricing LLC is not responsible for:

1. Security breaches caused by factors outside our control
2. Unauthorized access to your data despite our security measures
3. Data breaches resulting from your own actions or negligence
4. Third-party services’ data practices (Google, ad networks, analytics)
5. Loss of data due to your own device malfunction or account access loss

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim liability for damages arising from data loss or security incidents.

13. Modifications & Updates

ExploreCarePricing LLC reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time to maintain alignment with regulatory requirements or software updates.

Significant changes will:

1. Be announced prominently on the website
2. Be reflected in an updated Effective Date at the top of this policy
3. Be effective immediately or 30 days after notice, as required by law

Continued use of the platform following modifications constitutes your acceptance of the updated privacy policy.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed of any changes.

14. Related Legal Documents

This Privacy Policy works alongside our other agreements:

1. Healthcare Disclaimer — Data limitations, healthcare disclaimers, advertising disclosure
2. Terms & Conditions — Full platform usage terms, user responsibilities, liability limits

Please read all three documents together to understand your rights and our obligations.

15. Contact & Questions

For questions about this Privacy Policy, data requests, or privacy concerns:

ExploreCarePricing, LLC

A for-profit healthcare transparency platform

Rapid City, South Dakota, USA

Email: support@explorecarepricing.com

Subject Line: “Privacy Policy Question” or “Privacy Request”

Response Time: We will respond to all inquiries within 30 business days.

16. Your Choices & Control

To control your privacy:

17. Compliance & Legal Basis

We aim to align our data practices with: - General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — For EU visitors (note: as a US-based, non-EU-targeted site, some GDPR-specific mechanisms, such as EEA-specific consent banners, may not be fully implemented; see §9 for current opt-out options) - California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — For California residents - State privacy laws — Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia, and others - Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) — For children under 13 - CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule — For healthcare data sources - Industry-standard privacy and security practices

This section describes our general approach and is not a certification of full compliance with every provision of every listed law. If you have specific compliance questions, please contact us at support@explorecarepricing.com.

18. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of South Dakota, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

19. Our Commitment

ExploreCarePricing is committed to transparency, privacy protection, and responsible data practices. We believe healthcare pricing information should be accessible to everyone—without compromising your privacy or security.

We do not sell your data, we do not require accounts or passwords, and we intentionally minimize the information we collect. We are also clear and open about how the limited data we do collect is used.

Your privacy matters to us.

© 2026 ExploreCarePricing LLC. All rights reserved.

Data sourced from public transparency datasets — prices are estimates and not used to diagnose or guarantee treatment.