Montana Will Ring in 2026 with a Shiny and New Expansion of Its Non-Compete Ban

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Helena I. Poch Ciechanowski

December 2, 2025

Healthcare employers with a presence in Montana should be aware that, beginning January 1, 2026, employment contracts for licensed physicians practicing in Montana no longer can include the following types of post-employment restrictive covenants:

• a restriction on practicing their profession;
• a restriction on providing services;
• a restriction on treating, advising, consulting with, or otherwise establishing a provider-patient relationship with a current patient; or
• a restriction on soliciting or seeking to establish a provider-patient relationship.

Montana is one of ten jurisdictions that enacted more stringent rules regarding non-competition provisions for health care providers. The Montana law (Section 28-2-724, MCA) previously covered only psychiatrists, addiction medicine physicians, psychologists, social workers, professional counselors, addiction counselors, marriage and family therapists, and behavioral health peer support specialists, but now has been expanded to include all physicians licensed under Title 37, chapter 3 of the Montana Code.  The latest amendment to the non-compete ban is in addition to the expansion earlier this year (reported here), when Montana expanded the scope of the law to include naturopathic physicians, registered professional nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, and physician assistants.

Montana continues to have a limited exception for contracts signed in connection with the sale or purchase of a practice.  Additionally, the new law clarifies that contractual provisions for repayment of monetary advances, including loans, educational expenses, tuition reimbursements, relocation costs, and signing bonuses, are allowed, provided that the repayment obligations decrease over time.  The new provisions of the law apply prospectively to all contracts signed on or after the effective date.  Takeaway: If you are an Employer or Human Resource Professional for a physician practice, hospital, health system, nursing home, or any other employer in the healthcare industry, you should update your contracts now to remove any non-competition or patient non-solicitation language.

The author of this article, Helena Ciechanowski, is a member of the Bars of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Montana, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.