What does an owner commit to at BrightStar Care?
BrightStar Care gives an owner a territory of at least 15,000 residents aged 65 and over. That is below typical among home care systems.
Across 17 home care systems
How big are other systems' territories, next to BrightStar Care's? →
How long you are in, and what leaving looks like
A standard BrightStar Care territory holds at least 15,000 residents aged 65 and over.
Standard territory size, across the systems measuring it the same way
Every system here sizes on residents aged 65 and over.
3 systems between the highest and lowest are not drawn here. The full field is in the data table below.
›View data & method
| System | Residents aged 65+ |
|---|---|
| A Place At Home | about 40,000 |
| Amada Senior Care | 32,000–42,000 |
| Assisting Hands Home Care | at least 25,000 |
| BrightStar Care | at least 15,000 |
| CareBuilders at Home | 30,000–40,000 |
| ComForCare | 25,000–35,000 |
| FirstLight Home Care | about 25,000 |
| Griswold | 25,000 |
| Home Instead | 10,000 |
| HomeCare Advocacy Network | 30,000–50,000 |
| Homewatch CareGivers | 38,000–40,000 |
| HomeWell Care Services | 30,000–40,000 |
| Nurse Next Door | about 9,000 |
| One You Love Homecare | about 50,000 |
| Right at Home | at least 15,000 |
| Senior Helpers | 25,000–35,000 |
| SYNERGY HomeCare | about 20,000 |
Only systems that state a 65-and-over population are drawn: a system sizing on the whole population has measured something different, and the two are never ranked against each other. Where a filing says “at least” a number, the qualifier travels with the value.
What an owner has to hit, and what happens if they miss
What an owner may not do
- Franchisee may not participate in government payment programs such as Medicare, with limited exceptions for state-sponsored Medicaid and Medicaid Waiver programs, Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits personal care service programs, and VA beneficiaries.p. 72 ↗
BrightStar Care’s filing discloses 5 proceedings.
That is 1.3 per 100 locations, against 1.3 per 100 locations across the whole field. A count of proceedings mostly measures how large and how old a system is, which is why it is shown as a rate and never as a score.
- 2025 · pending · 01-25-0000-5569
We initiated action against a former franchisee and its guarantors, whose franchise agreement was terminated for clinical non-compliance, to enforce post-termination obligations (particularly the non-competition and non-solicitation requirements) and to seek payment of post-term liquidated damages and other amounts totaling at least $700,000. Respondents Ryan Home Healthcare, LLC and Colleen M. Ryan filed counterclaims for breach of the franchise agreement and a related forbearance agreement, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, tortious interference, civil conspiracy, and violation of the Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act. Daniel D. Ryan asserted 300+ counterclaims claiming to seek a total of $100,000,000.p. 14 ↗
- 2025 · 1:25-cv-08741
Franchisor initiated action for Enforcement of Post-Termination Obligations.p. 15 ↗
- 2025 · 01-25-0000-3477
Franchisor initiated action for recovery of unpaid royalties, fees, costs and liquidated damages.p. 15 ↗
2 earlier proceedings
- 2025 · 01-25-0009-1279
Franchisor initiated action for recovery of unpaid royalties, fees, costs and liquidated damages.p. 15 ↗
- 2017 · settled · 02-16-0005-0209
Former franchisees who operated one BrightStar Care franchise in Georgia alleged violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act, violation of the Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act, statutory fraud under Georgia law, common law fraud, and negligent representation in connection with the acquisition of their franchise. They alleged the defendants failed to disclose that the franchised territory was not a 'new' territory, previously operated by 2 different franchisees who allegedly had failed, allegedly was smaller than most franchised territories, and misrepresented the financial performance for first-year franchisees. Sought rescission and rescissionary or compensatory damages in excess of $500,000, punitive damages, attorneys' fees and costs, and other relief.p. 15 ↗
How to read these terms
- Contract language does not summarize. Where a filing states a term in words, those words are what we publish, with the page they are on. Only the handful of terms that are genuinely numbers get compared with other systems.
- A territory is only comparable to one measured the same way. Some systems size on residents aged 65 and over, some on the whole population. We keep those apart and never rank one against the other.
- Disclosed cases are not a score. A count of proceedings mostly measures how big and how old a system is. We publish what each filing discloses, in its own words, with a rate per hundred locations so the count is not mistaken for a verdict.
›The numbers behind this page
What the agreement says about the minimums
- Local marketing you must spend: “In addition to the General Marketing Fee you pay us, beginning on your Agency’s Opening Date, you must expend for local consumer marketing the greater of:”
- Sales you must reach: “If you are acquiring a franchise for a new Agency to be operated in a “standard” size territory, beginning the first 12 months of operations after your Minimum Start Date, your monthly performance must meet or exceed the Monthly Performance Standards appearing in the chart below.”
The proceedings, as the filing describes them
- “The counterclaims filed by Ryan Home Healthcare, LLC and Colleen M. Ryan seek in excess of $2 million, interest, attorneys' fees, costs, and punitive damages.”
- “Enforcement of Post-Termination Obligations”
- “Recovery of unpaid royalties, fees, costs and liquidated damages:”
- “Recovery of unpaid royalties, fees, costs and liquidated damages:”
- “We paid the Frasers a total of $215,000, the parties exchanged mutual releases, and the case was dismissed with prejudice.”
What this filing does not disclose
- Whether the territory is protected: the filing does not say.
Every term on this page is read from BrightStar Care’s own 2026 disclosure document, and the wording is the filing’s rather than ours. Territory sizes are compared only with systems measuring on the same basis. Disclosed proceedings are shown as the filing describes them, with their status where the filing states one. Source ↗
Once a month: what moved in the filings, which systems changed their agreements, and what it means for owners.