SOC 2 and HIPAA Auditors: 11 firms compared

Is there a HIPAA certificate equivalent to a SOC 2 report?

HIPAA has no certificate or attestation report equivalent to a SOC 2. Auditors map SOC 2 controls to the Security Rule and document the overlap; when customers want certifiable proof of HIPAA-grade controls, you add HITRUST, the framework built on top of HIPAA.

Healthcare teams often need a SOC 2 engagement that accounts for HIPAA obligations, not a universal HIPAA certificate. A firm can assess relevant Security Rule requirements and map overlapping controls, while HITRUST remains a separate certifiable program that some health systems and payers request.

Start with the PHI boundary: where protected health information is created, received, maintained, and transmitted; which subprocessors handle it; and how business associate agreements allocate duties. A SOC 2 report can show overlapping security controls; it does not establish HIPAA compliance.

Can one firm handle both SOC 2 and HIPAA?

One provider group can handle both SOC 2 and HIPAA, scoping the engagement around protected health information so the SOC 2 report also demonstrates much of what the Security Rule requires. Confirm whether HITRUST work, if needed, is included or separately contracted.

If a customer requires HITRUST, confirm the assessor’s current status and whether that work is included or separately contracted. Ask listed firms to identify the PHI boundary, entities, selected Trust Services Categories, observation period, HIPAA mapping, and deliverables before you compare proposals.

Mapping Security Rule overlap starts with HIPAA framework explained.

Do I need HITRUST as well as SOC 2 and HIPAA?

Add HITRUST only if your customers demand it. HITRUST is the certifiable, customer-recognized proof of HIPAA-aligned controls. Many healthcare SaaS firms start with a HIPAA-mapped SOC 2 and add HITRUST once an enterprise health-system or payer deal requires it.

HITRUST and a HIPAA-mapped SOC 2 run on different clocks. A Type 2 observation window does not equal a HITRUST validated assessment period, so a single kickoff date can still produce two staggered report dates.

When a payer asks for a certificate, the vs-page is SOC 2 vs HITRUST: how they relate.

How much does a SOC 2 and HIPAA audit cost?

$3K-$120K covers SOC 2 planning across the matching healthcare-scoped firms, not a bundled HIPAA or HITRUST fee. Ask for a proposal that names each deliverable, the observation period, and which line items sit outside that span.

Legal advice, readiness help, and HITRUST certification may be additional line items. Compare only proposals that name the PHI boundary and say which work is in scope versus referred to counsel or a separate assessor.

Before you price any HIPAA work, see which Security Rule provisions a SOC 2 report already covers in SOC 2 vs HIPAA: provision-by-provision mapping.

What makes a healthcare SOC 2 audit different?

A healthcare SOC 2 is different because it is scoped around PHI. Where protected health information lives, how it flows to covered-entity customers, what business associate agreements require, and how breach-notification duties map to incident response are details a generic SOC 2 auditor may overlook.

PHI-scoped SOC 2 firms without a HITRUST cut are on SOC 2 auditors for healthcare.