H.R. 10444 — Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act of 2026

This section prohibits any partnership or corporate entity not majority-owned and controlled by licensees from owning or controlling a medical practice, employing licensees, or engaging in the practice of medicine, with exceptions for nonprofit providers, hospitals, critical access hospitals, and rural emergency hospitals. It voids non-compete clauses except for licensees holding at least a 25 percent ownership interest in a medical practice and voids non-disclosure or non-disparagement agreements. It bars health care providers from interfering with licensees’ clinical decisions on patient time, status, treatment, referrals, diagnoses, or orders, and restricts management services organizations from controlling shares, assets, dividends, or management of medical practices.

This section permits the Secretary to exclude from participation in any Federal health care program any entity that violates the requirements described in section 2 of the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act of 2026.

This section preserves any state law that imposes equal or more stringent ownership and control requirements on medical practices, affords equal or greater protection to licensees, or imposes equal or more stringent restrictions on management services organizations.