Bill > HR105

This bill, the Quality Health Care Coalition Act of 2015, aims to protect patient safety and care quality by clarifying how antitrust laws apply to negotiations between groups of health care professionals and health plans. Specifically, it exempts health care professionals, including individuals and organizations, from federal and state antitrust laws when they negotiate contract terms with health plans for providing services. This exemption is intended to allow professionals to collectively bargain for better contract terms without fear of violating antitrust regulations, which generally prohibit agreements that restrict competition. However, the bill clarifies that this exemption does not grant new rights for professionals to collectively stop providing services, nor does it alter the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), applying only to health care professionals excluded from the NLRA. Furthermore, the bill explicitly states that these exemptions do not apply to negotiations concerning federal programs like Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), medical care for uniformed services and veterans, the federal employees health benefits program, or the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.