If you're a smaller healthcare org with minimum security & compliance support, this can help you better understand the choices.
The HIPAA Compliance Math
The HIPAA compliance choice is yours. But the math is simple.
HIPAA compliance costs are far lower than the cost of a security breach and the cost of non-compliance.
Healthcare teams that go for patchwork compliance end up paying 10x to 100x in ransomware and/or non-compliance fines by HHS OCR.
Who Does HIPAA Compliance Cover?
HIPAA applies to two categories of organizations – and the penalties hit both equally hard.
Covered Entities
Organizations that create or transmit PHI electronically as part of standard healthcare transactions.
Hospitals and health systems
Physician practices, clinics, and dental offices
Pharmacies and laboratories
Health insurance companies and HMOs
Medicare, Medicaid, and government health programs
Healthcare clearinghouses
IT and managed service providers (MSPs)
Cloud hosting and SaaS vendors
Medical billing and coding companies
Business Associates
Any organization that handles PHI on behalf of a covered entity.
EHR/EMR platform providers
Legal, accounting, and consulting firms
Data analytics and marketing companies
Document storage and destruction services
As of 2025, HHS estimates there are approximately 822,600 covered entities and over 1,000,000 business associates subject to HIPAA.
If your organization creates, receives, stores, processes, or transmits protected health information – you must comply with HIPAA.
And since the HITECH Act, business associates are directly liable for violations and can be fined by OCR independently.
Do You Think HIPAA Compliance Is Costly?
Let us make you think again
OCR’s #1 cited violation. The foundation of every HIPAA investigation.
Required annually and is the single most scrutinized element in any OCR investigation.
Recent penalties include Northeast Radiology ($350K), Gulf Coast Pain Consultants ($1.19M), and Tennessee Diagnostic Medical Imaging ($3M).