The Rhode Island Senate has approved legislation that would prohibit noncompete clauses in employment contracts for nurse practitioners, arguing the provisions contribute to a shortage of primary care providers in the state.
The legislation, which was approved by a vote of Senate 32, would eliminate restrictions on where a nurse practitioner can practice and how long they can remain on a current job after leaving a partnership.
Enforcing noncompete clauses that prohibit nurse practitioners from practicing within a certain radius can effectively make it impossible for them to change jobs, particularly within certain specialties,” said Sen. Pamela Lauria, D-Barrington, a primary care nurse practitioner who has worked for 25 years. “We are all aware of how hard it is to find primary care providers in Rhode Island today, and we should not allow noncompete clauses to curtail nurse practitioners’ ability to provide health care to Rhode Islanders.”
The provisions are similar to a law already passed in 2016 that prohibited noncompete clauses in employment contracts for physicians. The new legislation would also prohibit nurse practitioners from being restricted from practicing with any current patients or in any geographic area for a period of five years after leaving a partnership.
Lauria said the restrictions are particularly harmful in Rhode Island, where most healthcare providers work within 10 miles of a hospital.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.