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HIPAA Security Enforcement: Penalties and Consequences for Non-Compliance

Healthcare providers and business partners alike need to be aware of the risks associated with breaking HIPAA Laws because the penalties for non-compliance with the law can be severe. In addition to providing information on how to make sure your HIPAA compliance activities are successful, this article gives the healthcare business an outline of the many tier types of fines for violations of the law and how to stay HIPAA compliant with HIPAA audit.

Violation Classifications for HIPAA Non-Compliance

According to HIPAA regulations, non-compliance violations are broken down into four categories based on four factors: whether the breach was the result of wilful neglect or accidental carelessness, how potentially avoidable it was, and how the HIPAA covered entity (healthcare providers, insurance companies, and healthcare clearinghouses) responded to the violation. The following are the tiers:

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Tier 1 Violation: The covered entity was not aware of the HIPAA breach and was not reasonably able to prevent this violation.

Tier 2 Violation: The covered entity did not intentionally break HIPAA security, but they also did not take reasonable steps to comply.

Tier 3 Violation: The covered entity showed wilful disregard that resulted in the HIPAA violation but went on to address the problems that were raised.

Tier 4 Violation: The covered entity showed deliberate negligence that resulted in the HIPAA violation and failed to address the issues raised.

What are the Penalties for HIPAA Non-Compliance?


Tier 1 violations are subject to fines that range from $127 to a maximum of $63,973 per infraction, with a $30,487 annual cap.

Tier 2 violations are subject to fines that range from $1,280 to a maximum of $63,973 per infraction, with a $121,946 annual cap.

Tier 3 violations are subject to fines that range from $12,794 to $63,973 per infraction, with a $304,865 annual cap.

Tier 4 violations are subject to fines that range from $63,973 to $1,919,173 per infraction, with a $1,919,173 million yearly maximum penalty.

Are HIPAA Violations Criminal?

Even though not all HIPAA infractions result in criminal charges, some of them might. Consider the scenario where it is determined that a HIPAA breach was brought on by the deliberate falsification of information to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. In that situation, the offending party may face jail time among other criminal punishments. Additionally, HIPAA-violating disclosures of protected health information by covered companies who do so knowingly and intentionally risk criminal prosecution.