[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3770 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3770

 To make the antitrust laws inapplicable to the negotiations between a 
 coalition of health-care professionals and a health-care service plan 
 regarding the wages, rates of pay, hours of work, and other terms and 
     conditions of a contract between a member of such health-care 
 professionals coalition and a health-care service plan, and to their 
                carrying out such terms and conditions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 1996

 Mr. Campbell introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To make the antitrust laws inapplicable to the negotiations between a 
 coalition of health-care professionals and a health-care service plan 
 regarding the wages, rates of pay, hours of work, and other terms and 
     conditions of a contract between a member of such health-care 
 professionals coalition and a health-care service plan, and to their 
                carrying out such terms and conditions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health-Care Professionals Coalition 
Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``antitrust laws'' has the meaning given to it 
        in subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15 
        U.S.C. 12(a)), except that such term includes section 5 of the 
        Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that 
        section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition,
            (2) the term ``presumption of market power'' shall be 
        defined as a ``Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (`HHI')'' of greater 
        than 2,000,
            (3) the term ``health-care professional'' means an 
        individual who--
                    (A) is engaged in the delivery of health-care 
                services in a State,
                    (B) is required by State law or State regulation to 
                be licensed or certified by the State to engage in the 
                delivery of health-care services in the State, and
                    (C) has a valid license or certification from the 
                State to engage in the delivery of health-care services 
                in the State,
            (4) the term ``health-care professionals coalition'' means 
        an organization or association whose membership consists 
        exclusively of health-care professionals or health-care 
        professionals groups, or both,
            (5) the term ``health-care professionals group'' means a 
        group of health-care professionals that is legally organized as 
        a partnership, corporation, foundation, nonprofit corporation, 
        faculty practice plan, or similar association,
            (6) the term ``health-care service plan'' means a person or 
        governmental entity that agrees to pay (directly or by 
        reimbursement) any part of the cost for health-care services 
        provided to recipients of such services, in return for a 
        prepaid or periodic payment made by or for the benefit of such 
        recipients,
            (7) the term ``home health agency'' has the meaning given 
        to it in section 1395x(o) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1395x(o)),
            (8) the term ``hospice program'' has the meaning given to 
        it in section 1395x(dd)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 1395(dd)(2)),
            (9) the term ``hospital'' has the meaning given to it in 
        section 1395x(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1395x(e)),
            (10) the term ``person'' has the meaning given it in 
        subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15 
        U.S.C. 12(a)), and
            (11) the term ``skilled nursing facility'' has the meaning 
        given to it in section 1395i(3)(A) of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 1395i(3)(A)).

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to create a more equal balance of 
negotiating power between health-care professionals and health-care 
service plans.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF ANTITRUST LAWS TO HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONALS 
              COALITIONS.

    (a) Exemption.--Subject to subsection (b), it shall not be unlawful 
under the antitrust laws for a health-care professionals coalition--
            (1) to negotiate with a health-care service plan regarding 
        the wages, rates of pay, hours of work, and other terms and 
        conditions of a contract that require members of the coalition 
        to provide health-care services to beneficiaries of the plan, 
        or
            (2) to carry out such terms and conditions.
    (b) Limitation on Exemption.--The exemption established in 
subsection (a) shall apply only to a line of service--
            (1) of health-care professionals and health care 
        professionals groups who are members of a health-care 
        professionals coalition, and
            (2) with respect to which there is in the relevant market a 
        presumption of market power held by health-care service plans 
        with which the coalition negotiates terms and conditions 
        described in such subsection.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, but shall not apply with respect to conduct occurring before such 
date.
                                 <all>