In a recent online workshop hosted by the FTC, the agency’s Chair Andrew Ferguson said that the agency would not impose a blanket ban on noncompetes in all physician contracts, Medpage Today reported Jan. 30.
In the workshop, physicians discussed the ways that noncompete agreements have negatively impacted their careers and patients’ experiences, according to the report. Jennifer Kendall, DO, a program lead for the physical medicine and rehabilitation spine program at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, said in the workshop that she has been subject to noncompete agreements twice in her 14-year career, one of which barred her from practicing anywhere within the 55-mile St. Paul and Minneapolis area.
She added that fighting the clause would cost her $50,000 in legal fees. She ended up taking a heavy pay cut at new position to avoid relocating her entire family.
“They have physicians essentially over a barrel,” she told Medpage. “They control the physician salaries, they control their work hours, and they can force physicians to practice in unsafe conditions for patients.”
Selvam Mascarenhas, MD, chief medical officer for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, told the publication that he encountered “very strict noncompetes” in his job search across New York, Massachusetts and Indiana. He added that he has colleagues who have signed noncompetes with damage clauses ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. He said that when physicians leave these positions, they usually end up leaving the state altogether.
Dr. Kendall recognized that while noncompetes protect employers from taking patients away from the practice when they seek other employment, the onus should be on employers to ensure physicians have good working conditions and want to stay with their practice.
Moving forward, Mr. Ferguson said that the agency will evaluate noncompete clauses on a “case-by-case” basis, but will not institute a blanket ban on noncompete agreements.
“Some will object that this is too piecemeal an approach to be an effective solution to the problem,” but a blanket ban would be unlawful, Ferguson said. “Those who want alphabet soup bureaucrats to impose a nationwide ban on noncompete agreements when Congress has refused to do so should take their arguments to Congress, not to me
