Sometimes a major policy victory begins not with a sweeping campaign or a headline-grabbing protest, but with a single conversation. In this case, it began with physicians calling attention to a problem quietly reshaping healthcare in Utah: non-compete clauses that prevented doctors and other clinicians from staying in their communities, pursuing better opportunities or continuing to care for their patients after leaving a job. For patients, the consequences were often invisible until they became deeply personal. A trusted physician disappeared from a clinic roster. A specialist could not be located. Follow-up care became fragmented. In a state already facing workforce shortages, those disruptions carried real weight. What followed was a lesson in how policy change actually happens in Utah. A concern raised by frontline physicians became an organizational priority. Research turned into strategy. Strategy turned into bill language. Bill language had to survive stakeholder meetings, committee scheduling, legislative bottlenecks and the compressed, high-pressure pace of a 45-day session. By the end of that process, Utah had passed HB 270, landmark legislation eliminating non-compete clauses for healthcare workers. For the Utah Academy of Family Physicians, the bill’s passage was not only a legislative success but also a concrete example of how advocacy works when members engage, chapters organize and the right partners come together at the right time. The Spark: Two Physicians, One Growing Concern According to UAFP CEO Maryann Martindale, the idea for the legislation did not begin as an abstract policy exercise. It began with people UAFP knew well. Martindale has jokingly referred to the measure as the “Chen-Spain Memorial Non-Compete Bill,” named after two family physicians whose experiences brought the issue to light. One was Dr. Michael Chen, who ultimately left Utah after trying unsuccessfully to get out of a non-compete agreement. Another was Dr. Chad Spain, who was facing a similar dilemma. For Martindale, those stories crystallized both the personal and professional stakes. These were not hypothetical cases. They were respected physicians, deeply connected to family medicine in Utah, whose careers and communities were being affected by contractual restrictions. “It came from the loss of two really strong family physicians,” Martindale said. “I didn’t want to lose any more family physicians, and Utah patients definitely couldn’t afford to lose them.” That initial concern quickly widened. As Martindale started asking questions, she found that non-competes were not limited to a few contracts or specialties. They were widespread, inconsistent and affected more than physicians alone. The more she learned, the clearer it became that this was not just an employer-employee dispute. It was a policy problem. That distinction mattered. If non-competes in healthcare were going to change across the board, the solution would have to be statutory. In other words, Utah law itself would need to change. Step One: Learn the Landscape The first phase of the work was research. Before drafting anything in Utah, Martindale reached out to other states Free to Practice How Utah Ended Healthcare Non-Competes 9
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