S2E77: PMHNP Noncompete Clauses: 2026 State Law Guide

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.Six states rewrote healthcare noncompete rules in 12 months. What PMHNPs should check, negotiate, and refuse in a 2026 job contract before they sign it. In this Deep Dive episode, two hosts walk through “PMHNP Noncompete Clauses: 2026 State Law Guide” from the Psych NP Fellowship blog by Lindsay Hill, DNP, PMHNP-BC. Key takeaways: • Between August 2025 and July 2026, six states changed their rules on healthcare noncompetes: Colorado, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Tennessee and Maine. • Colorado, Utah and Virginia now void most new noncompetes for nurse practitioners. Maine bans them unless the clinician owns part of the practice. Texas still allows them but caps them at one year, a 5-mile radius and a required buyout. • Tennessee moved the other way for almost every PMHNP: a noncompete of two years or less is now presumed reasonable for anyone earning $70,000 or more. • None of these laws is retroactive. The date you sign (and in some states, the date you renew) decides which rules apply to you. • Several states that ban noncompetes still allow patient non-solicitation clauses, and in psychiatry those can cost you more than a radius does. • The FTC's nationwide ban never took effect, but in September 2025 the agency warned large healthcare employers that overbroad noncompetes can still draw enforcement. Read the full article: https://psychnpfellowship.com/pmhnp-noncompete-clause-2026-state-law-guide/ Explore the Psych NP Fellowship: https://psychnpfellowship.com/programs/ This content is for educational purposes and does not replace individualized clinical judgment or supervision.