Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Federalize Corporate Practice of Medicine Rules
Senators Warren, Wyden and Merkley, with Representatives Hoyle, Ocasio-Cortez and Subramanyam, introduced the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act of 2026 on September 16, 2026, creating a federal corporate practice of medicine framework in an area historically regulated by states. The bill would require for-profit entities owning or employing clinicians to be majority-owned and governed by licensed clinicians, restrict management services organizations from controlling hiring, compensation, billing, clinical standards and payor contracting, and protect clinician clinical judgment from employer interference. It would set a national floor while letting states keep stricter existing limits, and largely exempts nonprofit providers and hospitals. The bill lacks bipartisan or committee sponsor support and expires with this Congress, so near-term enactment is unlikely, though it signals ongoing scrutiny of MSO arrangements and private equity involvement in physician practices.