THE COOPERATIVE coffee bag, single origin Peru, Chief Complaint Coffee & Tea

The Chief Complaint, No. 2: Everyone Else Who Runs the Place

A family doctor who still owns her practice, on who owns yours. For anyone who has been a patient, sat beside one, or worked the shift.

The Complaint

Two years ago, the federal government tried to set almost every worker in America free from the non-compete. That includes the nurse who sat with your father. It never took effect.

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission finalized a rule banning new non-compete agreements with nearly all workers. Not just executives. The nurse, the medical assistant, the tech who runs your scan, the person at the front desk who knows your voice.

Then it came apart:

  • August 20, 2024: a federal court in Texas stopped the rule before it started.
  • September 2025: the FTC dropped its appeal.
  • February 12, 2026: the rule was formally removed.

Five days after dropping the appeal, the same agency sent warning letters to large healthcare employers and staffing firms. Non-competes, the letters said, can unreasonably limit where nurses, physicians and other medical professionals can work, and so limit patients' choice of who cares for them, especially in rural areas where care is already stretched thin.

So the national rule is gone and the warning is still on the record. What protects the people who care for you now depends on the state they work in.

Last week was about the doctor. This week is about everyone else who runs the place. The medical assistant who rooms you. The nurse who calls back with your results. The pharmacist who catches the interaction. When a practice is bought, a non-compete is one way the new owner keeps them. If they want to leave, they may have to leave town. And you lose them too.

The Chart

THE COOPERATIVE coffee bag, single origin PeruThis week: THE COOPERATIVE, a single origin Peru from Amazonas, medium roast. Lemon, herbal notes and chocolate, all from the bean. Named for the people who hold a practice up together. The story behind the name is on the blog today.

NOT ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS coffee bag, single origin Papua New GuineaNext week: NOT ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS, for issue three, about what a buyer is actually buying.

The Order

It is PA Week through October 12, and Pharmacy Week is later this month. The gift guide is sorted by who you are thanking. Free shipping over $50.

Rounds

Have you, or someone you work with, ever stayed in a job because of a non-compete?

Have you ever lost a nurse, a doctor or a front desk person you trusted because they had to leave town to keep working?

Reply. First names only, with permission, in a future issue.

Sign-out

I am a family physician in a county with few independent practices left, and I own one of them. Direct Primary Care is how I chose to do that. It is what I personally advocate for, and it is the only reason a coffee company with a cross on the cup exists.

Despite it all, we're still here.
Maryal

Sources: Federal Trade Commission, Noncompete Rule (16 CFR Part 910), status and history · FTC press release, September 2025, accede to vacatur of the Non-Compete Clause Rule · FTC press release, September 10, 2025, noncompete warning letters to healthcare employers and staffing companies.

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