Terms of Use and Acceptable Use Policies

Last modified June 27, 2022

Terms of Use

Thank you for using the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector Authority’s (the “Health Connector’s”) website, text messaging or chat. We hope this site helps you understand your requirements related to Health Care Reform and provides you with an easy way to meet those requirements, and that these policies help you to understand your rights and responsibilities in connection with your use of this site and our text and chat services.

  1. This document contains terms of use for this website, and for your use of the Health Connector’s text messaging and chat services. By using this website and, should you consent to do so, using the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services, you agree to these terms and conditions. In addition, you should also review our Privacy Policy to learn about information collected by the Health Connector, what that information is used for, and how it may be shared. Our Privacy Policy is available at https://www.mahealthconnector.org/site-policies/terms-of-use.

  2. For your convenience, this website, and messages received by you using the Health Connector’s text messaging and chat systems, may contain hypertext or other links to external Internet sites that are not provided or maintained by the Health Connector. Please note that we strive to ensure the highest level of accuracy regarding the information provided by these external Internet sites, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of these external sites. In addition, the inclusion of links to non-governmental sites is not intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.

  3. All of the material posted on this website and accessible to the public without use of an authenticating and authorizing mechanism (such as a “PIN” or password) is a public record, as is some of the information received by you through the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services. Most of the public records posted on Commonwealth websites and presented in the Health Connector’s text and chat messages can be copied and used for any purpose. For example, all regulations and all laws and regulations are public record.

With respect to material that is a registered trademark of the Health Connector, or in which the Health Connector holds a copyright interest, including the design, layout, and other features of this website, and certain elements of the Health Connector’s text messaging and chat features, the Health Connector forbids any copying or use other than “fair use” under the Copyright Act. “Fair use” includes activities such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, research, and other related activities. In addition, please be advised that, on this site, and in its text messaging and chat services, the Health Connector makes use of materials (including, but not limited to, photographs) copyrighted by third parties, which also cannot be copied or used for use other than “fair use” without permission of the copyright owner. If you want to make use other than “fair use” of any copyrighted information on this website, you must seek permission directly from the copyright owner.

The Health Connector makes no warranty that the materials contained within this website or presented to you through its text messaging or chat services are free from copyright claims, or other restrictions or limitations on free use or display. The Health Connector disclaims any liability for the improper or incorrect use of information obtained from this website or the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability

THE HEALTH CONNECTOR PROVIDES THIS WEBSITE AND THE HEALTH CONNECTOR’S TEXT MESSAGING AND CHAT SERVICES AS A CONVENIENCE TO YOU. THIS WEBSITE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES REGARDING THE MESSAGING OR CONTENT THAT YOU RECEIVE FROM US AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE.

The Health Connector  (which, as used herein, shall include any of its officers, directors, or employee) will not be liable or have responsibility of any kind for any loss or damage that you incur in the event of any failure or interruption of our site or our text messaging and chat services or resulting from the act or omission of any third-party involved in providing our site or our text messaging and chat services, or from any other cause relating to your access to, inability to access, or use of the site, text messages or chat services, whether or not the circumstances giving rise to such event may have been within the control of the Health Connector or of any vendor providing software or services.  The Health Connector will not be responsible for any loss or damage that could result from interception by third parties of any communications between you and this site or of any text or chat messages.  The Health Connector does not guarantee the timeliness, validity or completeness of any information made available to you through this site or our text messaging and chat services for any particular purpose.  The Health Connector is not responsible and will not be liable for any other damages of any nature, including any incidental, special or consequential damages (such as lost profits or lost business opportunities), punitive damages, or attorney’s fees.

Applicable Law

These Terms and Conditions and this Acceptable Use Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to conflicts of laws provisions.  Sole and exclusive jurisdiction for any action or proceeding arising out of or related to these Terms and Conditions and Acceptable Use Policy shall be in a state court located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provisions of these Terms and Conditions and this Acceptable Use Policy, or a portion thereof, to be unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to effect the intent of these Terms and Conditions and this Acceptable Use Policy, and the remainder of these Terms and Conditions and this Acceptable Use Policy shall continue in full force and effect.  These Terms and Conditions and this Acceptable Use Policy constitute the entire agreement between the Health Connector and you with respect to your use of the site or our text messaging and chat services and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous of the Connector and you with respect to the subject matter hereof.

We reserve the right to take all actions we deem appropriate to comply with applicable laws.

Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) sets forth certain limitations and restrictions required in connection with your use of this site or the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services.  By using this site or, should you do so, consenting to receiving text messages from the Health Connector or using the Health Connector’s chat service, you agree to the terms of this AUP. We may revise this AUP from time to time to add or modify restrictions on your use of this site and the Health Connector’s text messaging and chat services, by posting a new version of this policy at this site.  If you violate this AUP, we may suspend or terminate your use of this site or the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services.

You are prohibited from: (1) attempting to use or gain unauthorized access to this site or the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services or any third-party’s networks or equipment used to provide this site or those services ; (3) attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the site or the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services; (4) interfering or attempting to interfere with service to any user, host or network related to this site or the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services; (5) engaging in fraudulent, offensive or illegal activity of any nature; (6) uploading or sending any content, or engaging in any activity, that is pornographic, obscene, harassing, abusive, or defamatory or that encourages, promotes or expresses racism, hatred, bigotry or violence against any person or government entity; (7) engaging in any activity that infringes the intellectual property rights or privacy rights of any individual or third-party; (8) transmitting unsolicited bulk or commercial messages; (9) intentionally distributing worms, Trojan horses, viruses, corrupted files or any similar items; and/or (10) restricting, inhibiting or otherwise interfering with the ability of any other person, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, to use or enjoy this site or to use the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services.  We may investigate suspected violations of this AUP, and report suspected violations of this AUP to applicable law-enforcement authorities or third-parties and may cooperate with any investigation of illegal activities associated with your use of this site or the Health Connector’s text messaging or chat services or any violation of this AUP.

SMS/Text Messaging

The Health Connector will be using texting, also known as “ short message service” or “SMS”, to communicate with some Massachusetts residents.  These are the rules that, in addition to the other terms of this Terms of Use and this Acceptable Use Policy, will govern how we use text messages to communicate with you, how much it will cost you, and how you can opt-out.

How You Sign Up and What You Are Agreeing To

When you call our contact center, a customer services agent (“CSA”) will ask you if you want to receive updates on your case or informational messages via text messaging. You may provide your initial consent over the phone to the CSA.  If you say “yes”, the agent will confirm your mobile phone number.  You may also provide your initial consent via the use of the Health Connector’s interactive voice response (“IVR”) system. Before you consent, the CSA or the IVR system will provide you with information about how you can find these Terms of Use and Acceptable Use policies and our Privacy Policy online.

If you provide your initial consent during a call with a CSA, the Health Connector will send you an initial text that will give you a second, formal opportunity to opt-in to receiving messages by replying “YES”, and will also provide you with a link to these Terms of Use, this Acceptable Use Policy,  and our Privacy Policy.

Following your initial consent, you will receive a follow-up text message stating that your attempt to subscribe has been successful, and advising you that message frequency may vary and message and data rates may apply. The same follow-up message will inform you that you may text “HELP” for help with the use of the text messaging system and “STOP” to cease receiving text messages from the Health Connector at any time.

By agreeing to receive text messages from the Health Connector, you are certifying that you are over 18 years of age and that you are either the mobile phone account holder or you have the account holder’s permission to sign up.

You are also agreeing to the terms and conditions for text messaging and the additional terms set forth in other sections of these Terms of Use and Acceptable Use Policy except those governing our chat service.  If you do not agree to these terms and conditions and those in other sections of these Terms of Use and this Acceptable Use Policy, you can opt-out of receiving text messages by following the instructions below in the section titled “What if I want to stop receiving messages?”

 What will it cost?

The Health Connector will not charge you for text messages. You may be charged by your mobile (cell phone) carrier for each message that you send or receive. Messaging and/or data use fees may apply, depending on the terms of your mobile subscription agreement. You are responsible for all fees and taxes of any kind imposed by your mobile carrier. If you have any questions about fees or taxes, check with your mobile service provider.

How many messages will I receive?

For one-time transactional messaging, you will receive 1 message that will be communicated to you from the number 339-217-6216.

For recurring messaging, message frequency will vary and messages will be communicated to you from the shortcode 695465.

What if I want to stop receiving messages?

You can text STOP to 695465 or 339-217-6216 at any time to stop service.   If you want to opt back in after stopping, you can sign up again by following the steps outlined above in the section entitled “How You Sign Up and What You Are Agreeing To?”

What if I want more information or help?

To get more information or help, simply respond with the text HELP to the last text message that you received from the Health Connector or to 695465 or to 339-217-6216. During our call center’s business hours, 8 AM to 6 PM EST, you can also call our call center at 1-877-623-6765 (TTY: 1-877-623-7773)

Privacy Policy

We will not share your mobile phone number with any third parties.  For more information about how the Health Connector respects your privacy, you can view our Privacy Policy at https://www.mahealthconnector.org/site-policies/privacy-policy.

Chat

You may be provided with the opportunity to use the Health Connector’s chat services. Those services may include a chatbot (online chat that does not involve a live customer services representative) or live chat (online chat in which you will be communicating directly with a live customer services representative). These are the rules that, in addition to the other terms of this Terms of Use and this Acceptable Use Policy (other than those pertaining to text messaging) will govern how we use chat to communicate with you.

How do you start using chat and what are you agreeing to if you do so?

To start using chat, simply type a message in the chat box if it is presented to you by this site.

By using chat, you are agreeing to these terms specific to chat and to the other terms of this Terms of Use and this Acceptable Use Policy (other than those specifically governing text messaging).

What if I want more information or help?

During our call center’s hours of operation (8 AM to 6 PM EST), while using our chatbot you can get more information or help regarding your use of chat by calling our call center at 1-877-623-6765 (TTY: 1-877-623-7773), or by typing “agent” or “representative” into the chatbot system, after which you will be transferred to a live agent.