What is the Cost of HIPAA Compliance?

What Factors Contribute to Cost

Variables such as your organization type, size, culture, environment, and workforce will factor into your overall cost to comply with the regulation.

• Organization Type and Size: depending on your organization type (covered entity, business associate, MSP) you have different levels of access to protected health information (PHI). Larger organizations also generally have more employees and devices that add to your risk. Since a large portion of being HIPAA compliant is safeguarding PHI, the more systems that you have that “touch” PHI contribute to your organization’s level of risk, and in turn your cost to mitigate those risks.
• Culture and Environment: organizations that instill a culture of compliance that trickle down to their work environment will have a lower cost for remediation. When businesses have a dedicated security budget, they will generally already have many of the security protections in place required to meet HIPAA standards.
• Dedicated HIPAA Workforce: many HIPAA standards take time and effort to implement. Having employees dedicated to implementing these standards will lower your cost of HIPAA compliance as the time it takes for you to implement them will be significantly less.

Using a Consulting Service for HIPAA Compliance

When using a service such as a consulting company, the estimated cost of HIPAA compliance ranges from $4,000 to $78,000+ depending on your organization’s size and your current environment.

If you are a single-location healthcare organization with a small number of employees using a HIPAA consulting service would cost:

• $2,000 for Risk Analysis and Management Plan
• $1,000 – $8,000 for Remediation 
• $1,000 – $2,000 for Training and Policy Development

Total: $4,000 – $12,000

If you are a multi-location healthcare organization or you have a large number of employees using a HIPAA consulting service would cost:

• $20,000+ for Risk Analysis and Management Plan 
• $8,000+ for Remediation (dependent on your current security posture)
• $5,000+ for Training and Policy Development
• $40,000+ for Onsite Audit
• $800 for Vulnerability Scans
• $5,000+ for Penetration Testing

Total: $78,000+

There are also some companies that offer pieces of HIPAA compliance for a lower cost, but that won’t make you fully compliant. 

These companies charge:

$15,000 for HIPAA Compliance Assessment which includes:

• Scoping
• Project Management
• Risk Assessment
• Testing and Analysis
• Reporting

$10,000 for HIPAA Gap Assessment which includes:

• Scoping
• Project Management
• Risk Assessment
• Controls Identification
• Testing and Analysis
• Remediation Roadmap
• Reporting

$8,000 for HIPAA Remediation which includes:

• Remediation Planning
• Prioritizing
• Policy and Procedures
• Project Management
• Expert Advice

Implementing a Total HIPAA Compliance Program Without Breaking the Bank

While using a consulting service can be extremely expensive, the cost of HIPAA compliance does not have to be. When you use a service like Compliancy Group, you can meet all of your HIPAA requirements for a fraction of the cost. Compliancy Group offers a HIPAA software solution with guided support, allowing you to become HIPAA compliant quickly and in a cost-effective manner. 

The Guard, HIPAA software solution, includes: 

• Risk Assessments, Gap Identification, and Remediation Plans: to assess the risks and vulnerabilities to PHI, it is essential to conduct annual risk assessments. Risk assessments uncover gaps in your HIPAA safeguards. To be HIPAA compliant you must address the identified gaps with remediation plans.
• HIPAA Policies and Procedures: to ensure that your organization complies with the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules, you must have written policies and procedures. HIPAA policies and procedures provide guidelines for the proper use and disclosure of PHI, how to secure PHI, and what to do in the event of a PHI breach.
• Business Associate Agreements: it is essential to have signed business associate agreements (BAAs) with all of your business associate vendors. By doing so, you ensure that your business associates are committed to HIPAA compliance.
• Employee Training: human error poses the most significant risk to your organization’s compliance. This is why HIPAA requires that employees are trained annually on HIPAA basics, your organization’s policies and procedures, and cybersecurity best practices.
• Incident Management and Response: PHI breaches are inevitable, but when they occur they must be handled in a timely manner. To do so, organizations must have a system in place for detecting, reporting, and responding to breaches.

By working with Compliancy Group, you don’t have to implement your HIPAA program on your own. Clients are paired with a dedicated Compliance Coach to guide them through implementing an effective HIPAA compliance program in accordance with the law.