Revise laws prohibiting contracts that restrict practice to include physicians of all specialties
Summary
HB 620 revises Montana’s restrictions on employment and professional contracts that limit a health care provider’s ability to practice after leaving a job or partnership. Under current law, certain noncompete-style restrictions are already prohibited for specified behavioral health providers. This bill expands those protections to include licensed physicians of all specialties, so a contract cannot bar a physician from practicing medicine, treating or consulting with patients, or soliciting patients after the relationship ends.
The bill also preserves two key exceptions. It does not affect contracts tied to the sale and purchase of a practice, and it allows repayment arrangements for money advanced to a physician that decline over time, such as bona fide loans, relocation assistance, signing bonuses, education expenses, and tuition repayment. The act takes effect January 1, 2026, and applies only to contracts made or renewed on or after that date.
Impact
HB 620 amends section 28-2-724, MCA, to extend Montana’s ban on restrictive practice contracts from a list of behavioral health professionals to all licensed physicians, regardless of specialty. The practical effect is to limit enforceability of physician noncompete provisions and related patient-restriction clauses in future employment, partnership, and professional service agreements, while leaving practice-sale agreements and certain physician repayment obligations intact.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have had overwhelmingly positive and bipartisan support. It passed every recorded House and Senate vote unanimously, including committee action and concurrence on Senate amendments, with no recorded opposition in the available voting history. The lack of committee transcripts limits insight into debate, but the vote pattern suggests broad agreement with the bill’s approach.
Contention
No major contention is visible in the available record, as all votes were unanimous and there are no committee transcripts showing debate. The main policy issue implicit in the bill is the balance between physician mobility and employer/practice protections: supporters likely favored preventing restrictive noncompete clauses, while the retained exceptions for practice sales and repayment provisions indicate an effort to preserve legitimate financial arrangements. The amendment process in the Senate suggests some refinement, but not substantive opposition.