Source: American Academy of Family Physicians

Last year, family physicians from across the country described how noncompete agreements in physician employment contracts adversely impact their practice and patients in response to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposal to ban noncompete clauses. The FTC recently finalized a rule prohibiting noncompete clauses, but legal challenges will prevent the rule from going into effect this fall as intended. Now, Congress must act to ban these agreements.

Noncompete agreements in healthcare interfere with patient access to care, disrupt care continuity, deter advocacy for patient safety, limit physicians’ ability to choose their employer, and stifle competition. Despite well-documented physician shortages, many employers still intentionally restrict physician mobility and workforce participation via noncompete agreements. Noncompete agreements also contribute to burnout and mental health struggles by forcing clinicians to remain in unsustainable work environments or risk losing their livelihood or uprooting their families.

The Workforce Mobility Act (H.R. 731/S. 220) would prohibit noncompete agreements (with exceptions for the dissolution of a partnership or sale of a business) and direct the FTC and Department of Labor to enforce the law. Banning restrictive noncompete clauses in employment contracts would protect patients’ continued access to their physicians and allow physicians to practice medicine in their chosen community after changing jobs. Speak Out and urge your lawmakers to cosponsor this important legislation TODAY!

In addition, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) need to hear from you so it can help lawmakers to better understand your experiences with noncompete agreements, including their impact on you and your ability to care for patients in your community. If you have had an experience with a noncompete clause, please share your story on the AAFP website.