Washington Sues DaVita and Fresenius Over Noncompete Restrictions on Kidney Doctors
Key Facts
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced on November 10, 2026, that the state had sued DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, accusing the companies of imposing noncompete agreements on medical directors at dialysis centers. The state says the restrictions prevent kidney doctors from working part time at a competing center in the same geographic area. It argues that this makes it harder for competing centers to enter the market and limits options for patients with kidney failure. The lawsuit targets agreements described as restricting doctors’ mobility in a market where the companies provide extensive services across the state. The allegations have not been adjudicated, and the state is seeking to void the agreements and impose civil penalties for each violation.
The state says the restrictions affect patients who need recurring treatment: about 9,000 people in Washington receive dialysis, usually at a center three times a week for several hours at a time. According to the attorney general’s statement, DaVita and its affiliates operate 51 centers in the state, compared with 29 operated by Fresenius and its affiliates. Those figures reflect the companies’ presence in the treatment network on which patients rely. The state says some areas of Washington have only one dialysis provider. In those areas, restrictions on doctors could make it harder for a new competitor to enter, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit, according to the state, goes beyond preventing a medical director from working at a competing center; the state says some terms extended to entire medical practices. According to the statement, those provisions may prevent colleagues of a medical director at a kidney clinic from providing services to competing centers. The attorney general says the restrictions also hinder the provision of home dialysis, which the state describes as potentially more convenient for patients. This is tied to the nature of kidney doctors’ work: they manage centers part time alongside their medical practice. The state says Medicare regulations require centers to have a medical director, making doctors’ roles part of their operation.
The state is relying on Washington’s Noncompetition Agreements Act and Consumer Protection Act. The legislature enacted the Noncompetition Agreements Act in 2019, according to the official statement. The lawsuit seeks to void agreements the state says are illegal, as well as civil penalties for each violation. The statement did not estimate the penalties or report a court ruling, as the claims represent the attorney general’s position in the lawsuit. The move puts the companies on a legal path over contractual terms governing doctors’ work in the state’s dialysis market.
DaVita said the attorney general’s allegations “present a materially distorted picture of medical director agreements,” adding that it would defend the legality of its existing arrangements with independent physician practices. Fresenius did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to a Reuters report. There is a separate federal backdrop: DaVita disclosed that it received two requests for information from the Federal Trade Commission in April 2024 as part of an earlier investigation into medical director services and dialysis. The company said the requests cover a period beginning January 1, 2016, and include contractual restrictions such as noncompetes, and that it is cooperating with the government’s investigation. In the market, DaVita shares closed at $185.54 and Fresenius shares, traded under the ticker FSNUY, at $14.86 on November 9, 2026, a day before the lawsuit was announced.