✅Relating to restrictions on covenants not to compete for physicians and certain health care practitioners.

✅ SB 1318: Clinician non-compete limits to protect local patient access

What it says it does:
Sets clear limits on non-compete contracts for doctors, dentists, nurses, and physician assistants, so clinicians can keep working near home and patients are not cut off from care.

What it actually changes:
Caps non-competes at one year and five miles from where the clinician primarily practiced, limits any buyout to what the clinician earned in the prior year, voids physician non-competes when a physician is fired without good cause, requires clear and conspicuous contract terms, protects continuity of care during acute illness, gives access to recent patient lists and records with patient authorization, clarifies that administrative leadership is not the practice of medicine for non-compete purposes, and applies similar limits to dentists, nurses, and PAs. The statutory rules control statewide.

Who is pushing for it:
Clinician and professional groups that support workforce mobility and patient access, along with several policy advocates. Not in files if a specific sponsor list is requested beyond those named in the documents.

Who benefits:
Clinicians who need to change jobs without being sidelined, patients who want nearby care and continuity during serious illness, and independent or smaller practices that recruit locally.

Who gets left out or exposed:
Rural shortages are not solved by contract rules alone, large systems lose leverage from wide non-competes but can still use other contract tools, and disputes may arise over what counts as good cause or how to calculate compensation for the buyout cap.

Why this matters long term:
Creates simple statewide rules people can understand, reduces fights over broad restrictions, and shifts day to day power toward working clinicians and patient access, not blanket market lockdowns.

What to watch next:
How employers define good cause in physician terminations, whether clear and conspicuous is honored in practice or buried in paperwork, how compensation is counted for the buyout cap, and whether mobility improves in underserved areas after the effective date.

Questions to ask lawmakers:

1. Will you support a public checkup a year after the effective date to see whether mobility improved in underserved areas and whether disputes dropped?
2. What guidance will you encourage so clear and conspicuous really means plain, readable contract terms, not fine print?
3. How will you watch for employers gaming the good cause standard or the buyout calculation?


Bottom line:
This bill sets bright lines that make health care non-competes narrower, shorter, and more predictable, helping Texans keep their clinicians close to home while limiting overreach in private contracts.

#SB1318 #TexasPolicy #TexasHealthCare #PatientAccess #WorkforceMobility #KnowBeforeYouVote