Date: 04/22/2024
As integrated healthcare systems have grown and have come to dominate healthcare delivery in regional markets across Pennsylvania, physicians and other healthcare providers have been subjected to noncompete agreements that restrict their abilities to seek opportunities to apply their skills and training to benefit patients. By contractually binding physicians and others to them, integrated healthcare systems have upset the balance of the Commonwealth’s healthcare workforce. HB 1633 PN 2959, sponsored by House Health Committee Chair Dan Frankel (D, Allegheny) and former PACEP president Representative Arvind Venkat (D, Allegheny), will ban healthcare noncompete agreements and will restore physicians’ and others’ rights to freely practice where and when they chose. The bill passed the state House of Representatives on a strong, bipartisan 150 – 50 vote on April 17, 2024. HB 1633 now goes to the state Senate where it will likely be referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. That committee’s chair, Senator Michele Brooks (R, Crawford) sponsored similar legislation. “This legislation deals with employment contracts for health care providers, but it’s really about patient care – it protects the long-term patient-care giver relationship that builds trust and improves outcomes,” said Chairman Frankel said in an April 17th press release. “We know it’s not always easy to find the right health care provider, and it’s important that our laws not interfere with your ability to maintain that crucial relationship.” In the same press release, Representative Venkat said, “As a physician-legislator, I know that noncompete covenants unnecessarily restrict patient access to the clinician of their choice and make Pennsylvania a less desirable place for health professionals to practice. I am proud to have worked with Representative Frankel to pass this bipartisan legislation through the state House to improve patient access in our commonwealth.” To view HB 1633’s latest version, its history, and Chairman Frankel’s co-sponsorship memo, please use the link below:
Bill Information-House Bill 1633; Regular Session 2023-2024 - PA General Assembly (state.pa.us)
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