Opinion: FTC’s proposed ban on noncompete agreements could be a game changer for some physicians
The last two decades have been a period of declining economic influence for practicing physicians. Independent medical practice has been steadily eroded by hospital employment, as well as by private equity and corporate acquisitions, to the point where less than half of physicians in the U.S. work in private practices.
I have argued that the emerging scarcity of practitioners will eventually reverse this erosion. But an announcement by the Federal Trade Commission on Jan. 5 that it is proposing to outlaw noncompete agreements will help this turnaround come even faster. Noncompete agreements basically prevent employed physicians who want to leave their employer but continue practicing medicine from working in the same community for a specified period of time. The departing physician’s patients are redirected to other employed physicians.
