Does Brightstar Care utilize a Business Associate Agreement as part of its franchising contracts?
Brightstar_Care Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
EXHIBIT M
BUSINESS ASSOCIATE AND CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
("Covered Entity") and BrightStar Franchising, LLC ("BrightStar" or "Business Associate") hereby enter into this Agreement, effective as of Effective Date of the Franchise Agreement (the "Effective Date").
Recitals
- A. BrightStar arranges for certain products and services (the "Services") as a franchisor, to Covered Entity as a franchisee, as set forth in the BrightStar Franchising, LLC Agency Franchise Agreement between Covered Entity and BrightStar ("Franchise Agreement").
- B. The Parties' performance under the Franchise Agreement may or will require Covered Entity to disclose and/or provide to Business Associate private and/or protected health and/or medical information as defined under, and governed by, applicable state law and Individually Identifiable Health Information and/or Electronic Protected Health Information as defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH"), and/or regulations promulgated under such laws (state law, HIPAA, and HITECH are hereafter referred to collectively as "Privacy Laws") and may or will require BrightStar to receive, access, review, maintain, retain, modify, record, store, forward, produce, hold, use, create, disclose, and/or destroy such information (the "PHI").
- C. BrightStar's performance of the Services may give rise to certain legal obligations under Privacy Laws and BrightStar may be considered a "business associate" and franchisee may be a "covered entity" as those terms are defined in 45 C.F.R. § 160.103. This Agreement will not apply to relationships between the parties where BrightStar is not considered a "business associate" as defined in 45 C.F.R. 160.103.
Accordingly, the parties hereto ("Parties") agree to the terms and conditions set forth below:
Terms of Agreement
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 117–118)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Brightstar Care's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a Business Associate Agreement is part of the franchising contracts. Exhibit M of the Brightstar Care Agency Franchise Agreement is the Business Associate and Confidentiality Agreement. This agreement is between BrightStar Franchising, LLC ("BrightStar" or "Business Associate") and the franchisee, referred to as the Covered Entity. The agreement becomes effective on the same date as the Franchise Agreement.
The agreement acknowledges that BrightStar arranges for certain products and services as a franchisor to the franchisee. Due to the nature of the services, the franchisee may need to disclose protected health information to BrightStar, making BrightStar a "business associate" and the franchisee a "covered entity" as defined by HIPAA and related regulations. The agreement outlines the terms and conditions under which BrightStar will handle this protected health information.
This agreement is crucial for compliance with privacy laws, particularly HIPAA and HITECH, which regulate the handling of protected health information. It clarifies the obligations of both BrightStar Care and the franchisee in maintaining the privacy and security of patient information. The agreement applies only when BrightStar is considered a "business associate" as defined in 45 C.F.R. § 160.103.