Many physicians are bound by noncompete agreements that can lock them out of entire regions, sometimes blocking access to dozens of hospitals at once.
“Noncompetes and the way that they’re used serve as a blanket restrictive covenant for physicians when they sign a contract is really problematic,” Marcelo Hochman, MD, an independent physician and former president of the Independent Doctors of South Carolina, told Becker’s. “It abridges the patient’s rights to follow their doctor if their doctor is going to leave the hospital system and now they have to move X miles away. That patient may not have that option, [especially] senior patients, or maybe even just geographically … 30 minutes, 45 minutes away may just not be feasible, or you may just not want to do that.”
As state legislatures move to rein in the practice and debate intensifies over its effects on physician autonomy and patient access, the scope of the problem comes into sharper focus through the numbers.
1. 37%-45% of physicians are currently bound by a noncompete.
The American Medical Association estimates that between a third and nearly half of all doctors have a noncompete clause in their employment contract, making it one of the most pervasive restrictions in medicine.
2. Nearly 1 in 5 workers in the U.S. are bound by a noncompete agreement
According to data released Jan. 13 by the Economic Innovation Group, nearly 30 million Americans are bound by noncompetes.
3. Eight states passed healthcare noncompete restrictions in 2025 alone.
The state-level push has accelerated dramatically since the federal ban collapsed. In 2025, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, Oregon, Texas and Utah all enacted new legislation banning or curtailing noncompete agreements for healthcare providers, according to a report from JDSupra.
4. Four states currently ban the use of noncompete agreements entirely.
According the Economic Innovation Group’s State Noncompete Law Tracker, four states ban the use of noncompete restrictions, including California, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Minnesota.
5. A large health system noncompete can block access to 50+ hospitals at once.
According to a 2025 Medscape article, when one Pennsylvania gastroenterologist’s contract wasn’t renewed, he was barred from working within 10 miles of hospitals owned by his former employer and its main rival, which resulted in more than 50 hospitals between the two systems. He ultimately relocated to West Virginia.
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