Non-compete agreements are eroding the physician-patient relationship. These agreements—common in Texas—deny 45% of American physicians the ability to work at multiple care sites, open their own practices, offer free care to indigent populations, or continue treating their patients unless they relocate—sometimes hundreds of miles—from their former employer.
Health Care
Don’t Fence Me In: Challenges for Health Care in Rural Texas
LLANO, TEXAS—Dr. Jack Franklin often stops for coffee on his way to his modest office in this Texas Hill Country town. With a population of about 3,300, Llano is small enough that he’s bound to bump into a patient or two from time to time. At the Fuel Coffee House, he’s even served his daily...
March 16, 2026