[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4277 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4277

 To ensure and foster continued patient safety and quality of care by 
  making the antitrust laws apply to negotiations by groups of health 
 care professionals and certain other associations that are engaged in 
  negotiations with health maintenance organizations and other health 
 insurance issuers in the same manner as such laws apply to collective 
 bargaining by labor organizations under the National Labor Relations 
                                  Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 1998

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To ensure and foster continued patient safety and quality of care by 
  making the antitrust laws apply to negotiations by groups of health 
 care professionals and certain other associations that are engaged in 
  negotiations with health maintenance organizations and other health 
 insurance issuers in the same manner as such laws apply to collective 
 bargaining by labor organizations under the National Labor Relations 
                                  Act.

    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 ``Quality Health-Care Coalition Act of 
1998''.

SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS TO GROUPS OF HEALTH CARE 
              PROFESSIONALS AND OTHER ASSOCIATIONS PURCHASING HEALTH 
              INSURANCE COVERAGE.

    (a) In General.--The members of any group of health care 
professionals, or of any association maintaining an arrangement to 
which State licensure laws do not apply by reason of supersession of 
State law by title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974, which is negotiating with a health insurance issuer, licensed 
under State law to offer health insurance coverage directly to 
individuals or to groups of individuals, in order to purchase such 
coverage from such issuer, shall, in connection with such negotiations, 
be entitled to the same treatment under the antitrust laws as that 
which is accorded to members of a bargaining unit recognized under the 
National Labor Relations Act.
    (b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) Health insurance coverage; health insurance issuer.--
        The terms ``health insurance coverage'' and ``health insurance 
        issuer'' have the meanings provided such terms under paragraphs 
        (1) and (2), respectively, of section 733(b) of the Employee 
        Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1191b(b)(1), 
        (2)).
            (2) Antitrust laws.--The term ``antitrust laws'' has the 
        meaning given that term in the first section of the Clayton Act 
        and includes section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to 
        the extent that such section relates to unfair methods of 
        competition.
                                 <all>