When most people hear “HIPAA,” they think of doctors, nurses, or hospitals.
But here’s the truth:
You don’t have to be a healthcare provider to fall under HIPAA.
At Cybersecure California, we’re on a mission to raise awareness — and protect California businesses before they face fines, audits, or lawsuits. If your company handles, accesses, stores, or transmits health-related data in any way, you may be legally required to follow HIPAA security rules — even if you never wear a white coat.
⚖️ What Is HIPAA?
HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — a federal law designed to safeguard protected health information (PHI).
It applies to:
- Covered entities like doctors, clinics, hospitals, and health plans
- Business associates — third-party companies that handle PHI on behalf of those covered entities
If your business touches health data in any way, you’re likely considered a business associate — and that means you’re on the hook for HIPAA compliance.
🤔 Could Your Business Be a HIPAA Business Associate?
Here are some common (and surprising) examples of businesses that may fall under HIPAA:
💼 Insurance Brokers
- Sell or administer health insurance plans
- Access or share enrollment info or claim details
- Handle employee benefit programs for companies
💻 IT Support Providers / MSPs
- Manage or host systems that store PHI
- Provide email, server, or cloud support for healthcare clients
- Access backup systems or remote monitoring tools tied to medical offices
🧾 Billing & Coding Services
- Submit claims to insurers
- Handle patient names, diagnoses, treatment codes, and payment info
📊 Consultants & Coaches
- Work with practices to improve operations, compliance, or marketing
- Access practice management systems, scheduling data, or client records
📦 Document Storage or Shredding Companies
- Store or dispose of paper medical records
- Host or manage cloud-based archives containing PHI
☁️ Software Developers
- Build or maintain apps used by medical professionals or patients
- Store or process user health data (even if anonymized, in some cases)
🔍 What Counts as PHI?
HIPAA doesn’t just cover diagnoses and prescriptions. PHI can include:
- Names, addresses, and phone numbers
- Email addresses and Social Security numbers
- Health insurance information
- Medical record numbers
- Billing and payment history
- Any info tied to a person’s physical or mental health
🧯 What Happens If You’re Not Compliant?
HIPAA violations are a big deal — even for small businesses. Fines can range from $100 to $50,000 per violation, up to $1.5 million per year.
Common violations include:
- Sending PHI via unencrypted email
- Failing to sign Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with clients
- Storing medical data on insecure systems
- Letting untrained employees access PHI
- Not having an incident response plan
🛡 What HIPAA Compliance Looks Like in Practice
If you’re a business associate, here’s what you should already have in place:
✅ Signed Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with all healthcare clients
✅ Encrypted storage and transmission of PHI
✅ Role-based access controls and MFA
✅ HIPAA-specific security policies and procedures
✅ Employee training on PHI handling
✅ Regular security audits or risk assessments
✅ Incident response and breach notification plan
🧠 Not Sure If You’re a Business Associate?
You’re not alone. Many businesses don’t realize they’re covered until it’s too late.
At Cybersecure California, we raise awareness. And when you’re ready for help implementing compliance and security, we direct you to our trusted partner:
Synergy Computing.
🔧 How Synergy Computing Can Help
- Conduct HIPAA risk assessments and security gap analysis
- Implement secure cloud, backup, and email solutions
- Review and implement BAAs
- Provide ongoing cybersecurity support tailored to HIPAA-covered businesses
- Train staff on HIPAA compliance and security best practices
📅 Schedule a Free Compliance Assessment
Whether you’re in healthcare, insurance, consulting, or IT — if you touch medical data, you’re part of the ecosystem.
👉 Click here to schedule your free HIPAA compliance check
Or call 805-967-8744 to speak with a California-based cybersecurity expert who understands your risks — and how to reduce them.
HIPAA isn’t just for hospitals.
It’s for anyone who handles private health information — and that might include you.
📥 Not Sure If You’re a HIPAA Business Associate?
Download our HIPAA Quick Guide for Business Associates — a one-page PDF that breaks down who’s covered, what’s required, and how to stay compliant.
Perfect for consultants, IT providers, billing teams, and anyone handling patient data.
👉 Click here to download the guide (PDF)
📋 Need a Simple Way to Check Your HIPAA Compliance?
Download our HIPAA Compliance Checklist for Business Associates — a quick-reference PDF designed to help you assess whether your business is meeting key HIPAA requirements.
Ideal for IT providers, consultants, brokers, and anyone handling patient data.