An Act to Prohibit Noncompete Clauses for Health Care
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 2200
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
Amends: 26 MRSA §599-A

Legislative Document
No. 2200
H.P. 1479
House of Representatives, February 10, 2026
An Act to Prohibit Noncompete Clauses for Health Care 
Professionals as Recommended by the Commission to Evaluate the 
Scope of Regulatory Review and Oversight over Health Care 
Transactions That Impact the Delivery of Health Care Services in 
the State
Reported by Representative MATHIESON of Kittery for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services pursuant to Resolve 2025, chapter 106, 
section 8.
Reference to the Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services 
suggested and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 218.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §599-A, sub-§1, ¶A-1 is enacted to read:
A-1.  "Health care practitioner" means an individual qualified or licensed under state 
law to perform or provide health care services to persons in the State.
Sec. 2.  26 MRSA §599-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2023, c. 118, §1, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Prohibited for certain workers.  Notwithstanding subsection 2, an employer may 
not require or permit an employee to enter into a noncompete agreement with the employer 
if:
A.  The employee is earning wages at or below 400% of the federal poverty level; or
B.  The employee is a veterinarian licensed under Title 32, chapter 71‑A and is 
employed in a veterinary facility in which the employee does not have an ownership 
interest.
A court may not enforce a noncompete agreement entered into or renewed with an 
employee who is a veterinarian licensed under Title 32, chapter 71‑A before the 
effective date of this paragraph October 25, 2023 unless the employee is working in a 
veterinary facility in which the employee has an ownership interest.; or
C.  The employee is a health care practitioner.
Sec. 3.  26 MRSA §599-A, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 513, §1, is amended 
to read:
5.  Effective date of a noncompete agreement.  Except for a noncompete agreement 
between an employer and an allopathic physician or an osteopathic physician licensed 
under Title 32, chapter 48 or chapter 36, respectively, the The terms of a noncompete 
agreement do not take effect until after one year of the employee's employment with the 
employer or a period of 6 months from the date the agreement was signed, whichever is 
later.
SUMMARY
This bill is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance 
and Financial Services pursuant to Resolve 2025, chapter 106 to implement a recommendation 
from the Commission to Evaluate the Scope of Regulatory Review and Oversight over Health 
Care Transactions That Impact the Delivery of Health Care Services in the State.  The joint 
standing committee has not taken a position on the substance of this bill. By reporting this bill 
out, the joint standing committee is not suggesting and does not intend to suggest that it agrees 
or disagrees with any aspect of this bill; instead, the joint standing committee is reporting the 
bill out for the sole purpose of having a bill printed that can be referred to a joint standing 
committee for an appropriate public hearing and subsequent processing in the normal course. 
The joint standing committee is taking this action to ensure clarity and transparency in the 
legislative review of the proposals contained in the bill.
This bill prohibits noncompete agreements for health care practitioners.