MMA Board Approves Restrictive Covenant Policy

February 16, 2023

The MMA Board of Trustees approved a policy at its February 8 meeting that opposes restrictive covenants in all physician employment contracts because they restrict competition, can disrupt continuity of care, and may limit access to care. 

Many Minnesota physicians are subject to a restrictive covenant or non-competes within their employment contract. These provisions limit their ability to find new employment because they prevent them from practicing within a certain geographic area for a specified period, or other restriction. These provisions can also prevent physicians from informing their existing patients that they will be leaving and providing their new location. Physicians may be forced to leave the community in which they have been practicing for years, simply because they have a non-compete in their employment contract. The patients in that community also may lose access to that physician if they are forced to leave the community. 

The MMA’s Ethics & Medical Legal Affairs Committee developed this policy after conducting a member-wide survey, which overwhelmingly showed that respondents wanted to see a change in how restrictive covenants were used by employers in Minnesota. The policy also went through the MMA’s online voting tool, The PULSE, where it received support from more than 90% of members.   

The MMA Board of Trustees discussed this policy over the course of two Board meetings, in order to ensure that they were taking the appropriate stance and that all points of view had been discussed.