Are Care Plus Medical Ucc franchisees required to comply with all applicable federal laws?

Regardless of the development path for your Franchised Business, all medical products and services provided through your Franchised Business must be provided by Licensed Providers, and you are solely responsible for ensuring that the ownership, development, and operation of the Franchised Business complies with all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations.

Your Franchised Business will be subject to many federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and licensing requirements. You must comply with all laws, regulations, and licensing requirements that apply to your Franchised Business. You are responsible for investigating and evaluating the federal, state, and local laws that may apply to the structuring and operation of your Franchised Business, and the federal, state, and local restrictions regarding the ownership of your Franchised Business and the individuals that may or may not provide services through your Franchised Business. We require you to consult with an attorney regarding the laws and regulations and the permit, license, and certificate requirements that may apply to your Franchised Business before signing a Franchise Agreement with us.

The health care industry is heavily regulated. Some of the laws, regulations, and licensing requirements that apply to urgent care clinics and will apply to your Franchised Business, relate to the practice of medicine and the licensing and operation of counseling services; privacy of patient records (including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, and the Health Information for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH); the relationship of providers and suppliers of health care services with medical professionals, including state and federal anti-kickback and self-referral laws and state Medicaid laws concerning reimbursement for services for those who participate in Medicaid; prohibitions on fee splitting and self-referral restrictions (such as the federal "Stark Law" and similar state laws); and payment systems for medical benefits available to individuals through private insurance and government resources (including Medicare and Medicaid).

There are also local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations that regulate the type of marketing that you may or may not make as to the products and services offered by your Franchised Business, the results that a customer or patient may or may not achieve, and whether or not the products and services are authorized, cleared, or approved by any government agency or authority.

You must obtain and maintain all required permits, licenses, and certificates necessary for the operation of your Franchised Business and for offering counseling and therapy products and services. We require, and all states also require, that any person who provides counseling and therapy products and services through your Franchised Business pass all applicable licensing tests and board certifications, be licensed medical professionals according to state law, and maintain at all times all permits, licenses, and certificates necessary to provide these products and services.

Source: Item 1 — THE FRANCHISOR AND ANY PARENTS, PREDECESSORS, AND AFFILIATES (FDD pages 7–11)