Pricing & engagement model
How CareNorth prices its work
CareNorth prices like a governance advisory firm, not a tool vendor. Fees reflect Security Officer accountability, healthcare specialization, and the risk CareNorth carries alongside your leadership team.
Most clients begin with a focused review and, when the fit is right, move into ongoing Security Officer leadership.
Core principle
Designed around accountability, not billable hours
CareNorth is engaged as a named HIPAA Security Officer and governance leader — the governance voice supporting your organization during OCR reviews, insurer scrutiny, board reporting, and operational disruption. Fees are based on the risk CareNorth carries, the complexity of your environment, and the outcomes you need, not on selling blocks of hours.
Working sessions
A working session is the safest way to begin. In 60–90 minutes, we clarify where your program stands today, where pressure is coming from, and what must change before the next audit, renewal, or transaction.
- Duration: 60–90 minutes
- Deliverable: short written summary and recommended next steps
- Most working sessions are scoped between $750 and $1,500, depending on complexity
Entry engagements that build your governance picture
Entry engagements build the first version of your governance picture. They are short, tightly scoped, and designed to answer specific questions for OCR, payers, insurers, or buyers.
HIPAA Operational Accountability Review
A 2–3 week review of governance ownership, documentation practices, vendor accountability, and audit readiness. Delivered as an executive summary and prioritized governance action list.
AI Governance Readiness Review
A focused look at how AI is being used in documentation, scheduling, and operations, how those uses are governed today, and what must change to make that usage defensible.
Cyber Insurance Governance Readiness
A short engagement aligned to insurer expectations, clarifying controls, documentation, and gaps that affect underwriting.
Pre-Sale Compliance & Governance Readiness
For owners and PE groups preparing for diligence, this engagement builds the governance and compliance story buyers and counsel will test.
When CareNorth continues as your ongoing Security Officer, entry engagement fees are credited toward the first month of retainer.
When OCR, incidents, or transactions are already in motion
When OCR notices, serious incidents, or live transactions are already in motion, organizations often move directly into a stabilization engagement. CareNorth's role is to hold governance steady, organize documentation, and support counsel and leadership while you continue operating.
- Used for OCR response, post-incident repair, and high-stakes diligence
- Horizon: typically 4–8 weeks
- Engagements of this type are commonly structured between $15,000 and $25,000, depending on urgency and complexity
What ongoing Security Officer retainers include
Once the initial work is complete, many organizations ask CareNorth to formally carry the Security Officer role and governance cadence.
Governance cadence typically includes:
- Monthly or biweekly leadership check-ins
- Quarterly governance and risk reviews
- Oversight of risk analysis and policy maintenance
- Vendor and BAA governance support
- Coordination for audits, payers, and insurers
- Incident and escalation support at the governance layer
- Guidance for executive and board-level reporting
This is the ongoing layer that keeps security governance functioning when leadership attention is pulled elsewhere.
HIPAA Security Officer and governance retainers
For single-entity healthcare organizations — home health, behavioral health, specialty care, and regional platforms — CareNorth structures ongoing Security Officer engagements as monthly retainers aligned to organizational scale, transaction activity, and governance complexity.
Most Security Officer retainers fall within the low five-figure monthly range, with higher-intensity work at the upper end when OCR actions, complex remediation, or active transactions increase governance demands.
Rather than price by hours, retainers are scoped to the maturity and size of the organization, the volume of incidents, audits, and transactions, and the level of executive coordination required.
A full-time HIPAA compliance and security leadership role often costs $125,000–$175,000 per year plus benefits and overhead. CareNorth's retainers deliver senior enterprise security experience and named Security Officer accountability at a fraction of that cost, with a governance operating system that can be applied across entities.
Portfolio and PE platform engagements
For PE operating partners and multi-entity operators, CareNorth standardizes governance across the portfolio while respecting local realities.
Per-entity portfolio retainers
Used when each entity needs its own visible Security Officer and governance program, with shared frameworks and reporting.
InvestmentHigh four-figure to low five-figure monthly range
Platform retainers
Used when CareNorth delivers a shared governance operating system across 5–15 entities under a single platform agreement.
InvestmentMid five-figure monthly range, depending on entity count and complexity
Portfolio work is always scoped after a portfolio briefing and review of existing governance maturity.
Who this pricing is built for
CareNorth's pricing is designed for organizations that want an accountable Security Officer and long-term governance partner, not a minimal compliance checkbox. When the fit is right, the cost of CareNorth's work is small compared to the risk of OCR action, failed diligence, or insurer friction.
- Healthcare organizations where HIPAA exposure, insurer pressure, or deals are strategic issues.
- PE-backed platforms building a repeatable governance standard across entities.
- Leaders who want a single person to carry the program and stand there when it matters.
Begin where the pressure is
Most engagements start with a working session or a fixed-scope review. Pick the entry point that fits, or call directly.
Founder-led. You reach the person responsible for the engagement.