Summary
Thatch leverages client data to run its benefits program: building out an allowance strategy, administering the program, enrolling members in health plans, and paying insurance premiums to carriers. We use AI from leading technology companies under agreements that prohibit them from training their models on any data received from Thatch. A person from our team is available should you have any issues with the answers you receive.
How Thatch uses customer data
What data does Thatch collect, and why?
We collect what we need to provide our product and services. For example, to show members the right plans and set the right allowances, we need each person's age, ZIP code, and number of dependents, since plan prices depend on all three. To enroll members and pay premiums, we need personal information and plan selections. The information we are required to collect for each individual may vary based on the enrollment requirements for the carrier.
Our full data practices are described in our Privacy Policy at thatch.com/privacy. That policy explains in full how we collect, use, share, and protect your information.
Does Thatch sell customer data?
Thatch does not operate as a data aggregator or data broker, and client data is not a product we offer or monetize. Thatch uses client data only to deliver and support our services, as described in our privacy agreements and our agreements with clients.
Does Thatch give other customers access to my company’s data?
No. Identifiable information about your company and employees isn’t disclosed to other customers. Your data is shared only with the parties needed to deliver your benefit, such as the insurance carrier a member enrolls with, and service providers, and only under appropriate agreements.
Does Thatch use customer data for anything beyond providing the service?
We use aggregated, de-identified data to understand trends across Thatch and improve the product. Examples include calculating the average allowance employers offer, or the share of members who choose gold plans. These insights help us give every customer better recommendations and benchmarks. Nobody can identify an individual or a specific employer from these insights.
Can you keep our data separate from these aggregate insights?
Our platform is built so every customer benefits from the same product, recommendations, and benchmarks. Aggregate insights are only possible because they draw on data across Thatch, and they never identify you or your employees.
Is Thatch HIPAA compliant? Will you sign a BAA?
Yes. Thatch handles protected health information (PHI) in compliance with HIPAA, and every employer is protected under a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with Thatch. We also require BAAs with vendors that process PHI on our behalf.
How Thatch uses AI
Where does Thatch use AI?
We use AI in a few places to improve the experience of our users:
Product Support and Improvement. We use AI to help answer user questions about Thatch, benefits, and general account information across our support channels, including Ask Thatch (our in-app support agent, available 24/7) and other channels such as text message communications. We are continually investing in these tools to improve the quality of the answers and the usefulness of the experience for our users.
In-Product Features. Some in-product features, such as plan network checks or recommendations, may be assisted by AI. Where AI is at work, we’ll let you know.
Internal Operations. We use AI to help our team resolve issues faster and proactively identify and remediate problems before they affect users.
Which AI models does Thatch use?
We use a variety of models from established third-party companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, and are on enterprise plans that prevent any data shared with them from being used to train their models. We may also leverage open-source models on our own infrastructure when appropriate, which ensures customer data only leaves Thatch when required for the purposes of administering the health benefits (e.g. making a payment to a carrier).
How does Thatch protect data used with AI tools?
Any third-party AI company that processes your personal information or protected health information on our behalf is bound by an agreement and, where required by HIPAA, a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). These agreements prohibit third-party providers from using your data for any purpose other than providing services to Thatch on your behalf.
HIPAA and Your Health Information
Thatch’s use of AI in connection with your health benefits is subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This means:
Protected health information (PHI) you share through our tools is handled in accordance with HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules
We use only the minimum necessary information to provide the service you’ve requested
Any third-party provider that processes your PHI on our behalf has signed a Business Associate Agreement with Thatch
Is our data used to train AI models?
Your data is not used to train any third-party AI models. We've opted out of model training with our AI vendors, and our contracts prohibit it.
Can members talk to a person instead?
Yes, at any time. Members can ask Ask Thatch for a person, and the conversation goes to our support team with the full history attached. Members can also email support@thatch.com.
Does AI make decisions about coverage?
No. AI helps answer questions about the basics of insurance (e.g. what is a deductible, what is coinsurance, what is a PPO vs HMO), but members choose their own plans.
What if Ask Thatch gives an incorrect answer?
Like any AI tools, ours can occasionally be wrong or incomplete, which is why we recommend verifying important details before acting on them. If you spot an error, ask for a person in the chat or email support@thatch.com and tell us what happened. Our team reviews flagged conversations and updates Ask Thatch’s guidance and source articles to prevent the same mistake. Ask Thatch answers from Thatch’s own help articles, so fixing an article fixes the answer. We also regularly QA the performance of our AI solutions to ensure continuous improvement.