How Cedar leverages Vanta to build trust in the highly-regulated healthcare industry

The company

On a mission to simplify the patient financial journey

Cedar is transforming how patients engage with their healthcare bills, bringing clarity, flexibility, and compassion to one of the most frustrating parts of the medical experience. From payment plans to real-time billing transparency, Cedar helps patients manage medical costs with confidence.

Brooke Lynne Bowman, Senior Compliance Manager, leads Cedar’s security and compliance operations. A Vanta 25 to Trust winner, Brooke oversees Cedar's comprehensive compliance and security program. Her work spans internal and external audits, risk management frameworks, organization-wide training, third-party risk management, and more—all while co-leading Cedar’s Women+ ERG to drive equity and inclusion.

“When people think about healthcare accessibility, they often think about access to doctors,” Brooke says. “But affordability and financial stress are just as critical—and we’re solving that head-on.”

Operating in a tightly regulated industry, Cedar sees trust as a core business driver. “We handle sensitive patient financial data,” Brooke says. “Security and compliance aren’t optional—they’re how we earn the right to grow.”

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The challenge

A fragmented program and a growing list of frameworks

When Brooke Lynne Bowman joined Cedar, the compliance function was still early in its development. At the time, it was just her and the newly hired Chief Compliance Officer trying to make sense of a scattered, mostly manual system.

“There were spreadsheets everywhere, no clear ownership, and teams weren’t always aligned,” Brooke said. “We didn’t have the visibility we needed, and we didn’t even know what gaps existed—until we found them.”

Cedar was using a legacy GRC tool, but it lacked critical features and scalability that the team needed. That left Brooke relying on disconnected tools and spreadsheets that couldn’t scale, especially as Cedar was ramping toward more complex frameworks like HITRUST.

“It was a very reactive approach, with processes that were largely manual,” Brooke said. “You can expect a little controlled chaos in our profession, but we needed better tooling just to stay sane—and to keep up.”

Just three months into the role, Brooke found herself leading Cedar’s HITRUST renewal solo. Manually mapping controls and preparing for an external audit without a centralized system added pressure to an already high-stakes project.

With deadlines approaching and compliance expectations growing, it became clear the team needed a modern platform that could consolidate systems, support multiple frameworks, and bring much-needed clarity to their audit process. They also needed a system that could evolve and adapt as needs—and regulatory requirements—shifted.

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The solution

A centralized platform to drive compliance and trust

After joining Cedar, Brooke and her team began evaluating five to six GRC vendors, ranging from early-stage startups to established industry players. Their criteria were clear: the right platform had to consolidate systems, support complex and evolving frameworks, and be flexible enough to fit Cedar’s workflows.

“We did our research and started interviewing vendors,” Brooke said. “What truly stood out about Vanta was its ability to map to HITRUST. That was a game-changer.”

With audit deadlines looming and a small team managing multiple frameworks, the ability to skip months of manual HITRUST mapping was critical. “It gave us the confidence to move quickly,” Brooke added. “And helped us avoid the risk that comes with stitching things together manually.”

Implementation moved quickly, and the impact was immediate. Vanta replaced spreadsheets and disconnected tools with one centralized platform for managing security, audits, and trust. 

“We’ve gone from a fragmented, reactive program to one that’s proactive and fully visible,” Brooke said. “It’s changed how we work.”

The team fully adopted everything they purchased, from access reviews and custom frameworks to risk management, vendor reviews, SOC 2, and HIPAA. They’re even thinking creatively about how to use Vanta in other areas of the business.

Vanta’s AI tools have become indispensable. Brooke uses Vanta AI regularly to move through security questionnaires, troubleshoot issues, and validate control requirements. “It’s like having an intelligent assistant that helps me move faster and with more confidence,” she said.

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The impact

Cleaner audits, stronger reporting, and more transparency to inspire customer trust 

Since adopting Vanta, Cedar has transformed its compliance operations from reactive to strategic. The team earned a clean SOC 2 Type 2 report, closed long-standing GRC gaps, and condensed its audit calendar to just one quarter—a dramatic shift from the fragmented workflows they started with.

That clarity has paid off. With improved visibility and regular reporting to leadership and the board, Brooke was able to secure additional headcount, doubling her team and giving compliance a stronger seat at the table.

AI tools have further extended the team’s reach, helping them respond to security questionnaires faster and navigate complex requirements with confidence. What once required days of back-and-forth can now happen in minutes.

Vanta has also been a game-changer for reputation management and business growth: In the highly-regulated healthcare industry, Vanta helps Cedar earn trust to put partners and prospects at ease. 

The upcoming launch of Cedar’s Trust Center will take that transparency even further, giving partners self-serve access to critical compliance documentation and reducing the time spent on inbound requests. 

With Vanta, Cedar isn’t just keeping up with compliance requirements—they’re scaling with clarity and control.

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