A May 8 editorial published by the Idaho Statesman contends that the state’s noncompete law is contributing to the state’s ongoing physician shortage.
The argument centers around a lawsuit being brought against Boise, Idaho-based Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Parker Fillmore, MD, a trauma surgeon and former trauma medical director at the hospital, is suing Saint Alphonsus for wrongful termination and enforcing a noncompete clause that prevents him from working at other local hospitals.
Although the newspaper’s editorial board said noncompetes can be appropriate in “very rare circumstances,” such as when businesses make significant investment in an employee, it argues this is not the case for Dr. Fillmore, who joined Saint Alphonsus in 2016. He joined the hospital at a time when staffing and resource support allegedly struggled.
During his military deployment in 2023, the hospital lost its trauma verification from the American College of Surgeons. Weeks after returning, Dr. Fillmore was removed from his leadership role and later terminated — a move he claims was retaliation.
After leaving, Dr. Fillmore began working at West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell, prompting a cease-and-desist letter from Saint Alphonsus over his noncompete agreement. The clause bars him from providing trauma care within 90 miles for 18 months after the termination of his contract.
The editorial board wrote that this agreement would not only bar him from working in the region, but could force him out of the state entirely.
“Trying to enforce a noncompete in this particular case seems inappropriate and indeed harmful to the overall health system,” the board wrote. The American Medical Association, which estimates that noncompetes affect 37% to 45% of physicians in the U.S., advises physicians not to sign them, according to previous Statesman reporting.
The board also asserted that the total ban on noncompetes proposed by state Rep. Todd Achilles is “heavy-handed government intrusion,” as some business circumstances call for such agreements.
“But even in such circumstances, noncompete agreements should be limited in scope and time frame,” the editorial said. “We also tend to agree that health care shouldn’t be so competitive that a doctor can’t go to work for another nearby hospital.”
