I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1671
To ensure and foster continued patient safety and quality of care by making 
the antitrust laws apply to negotiations between groups of independent 
pharmacies and health plans and 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 
APRIL 14, 2005
Mr. WEINER (for himself and Mr. MORAN of Kansas) 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 negotia-
tions between groups of independent pharmacies and 
health plans and 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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Pharmacy 
Fairness Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS TO INDE-
PENDENT PHARMACIES NEGOTIATING WITH 
HEALTH PLANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any independent pharmacies who 
are engaged in negotiations with a health plan regarding 
the terms of any contract under which the pharmacies pro-
vide health care items or services for which benefits are 
provided under such plan shall, in connection with such 
negotiations, be entitled to the same treatment under the 
antitrust laws as the treatment to which bargaining units 
which are recognized under the National Labor Relations 
Act are entitled in connection with such collective bar-
gaining. Such a pharmacy shall, only in connection with 
such negotiations, be treated as an employee engaged in 
concerted activities and shall not be regarded as having 
the status of an employer, independent contractor, mana-
gerial employee, or supervisor. 
(b) PROTECTION FOR GOOD FAITH ACTIONS.—Ac-
tions taken in good faith reliance on subsection (a) shall 
not be the subject under the antitrust laws of criminal 
sanctions nor of any civil damages, fees, or penalties be-
yond actual damages incurred. 
(c) LIMITATION.—
(1) NO
NEW
RIGHT
FOR
COLLECTIVE
CES-
SATION
OF
SERVICE.—The exemption provided in 
subsection (a) shall not confer any new right to par-
ticipate in any collective cessation of service to pa-
tients not already permitted by existing law. 
(2) NO
CHANGE
IN
NATIONAL
LABOR
RELA-
TIONS
ACT.—This section applies only to inde-
pendent pharmacies excluded from the National 
Labor Relations Act. Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as changing or amending any provision of 
the National Labor Relations Act, or as affecting 
the status of any group of persons under that Act. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The exemption provided in 
subsection (a) shall apply to conduct occurring beginning 
on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(e) LIMITATION ON EXEMPTION.—Nothing in this 
section shall exempt from the application of the antitrust 
laws any agreement or otherwise unlawful conspiracy that 
excludes, limits the participation or reimbursement of, or 
otherwise limits the scope of services to be provided by 
any independent pharmacy or group of independent phar-
macies with respect to the performance of services that 
are within their scope of practice as defined or permitted 
by relevant law or regulation. 
(f) NO EFFECT ON TITLE VI OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACT 
OF 1964.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
affect the application of title VI of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964.
(g) NO APPLICATION TO FEDERAL PROGRAMS.—
Nothing in this section shall apply to negotiations between 
independent pharmacies and health plans pertaining to 
benefits provided under any of the following: 
(1) The Medicaid Program under title XIX of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.). 
(2) The SCHIP program under title XXI of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.). 
(3) Chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code 
(relating to medical and dental care for members of 
the uniformed services). 
(4) Chapter 17 of title 38, United States Code 
(relating to Veterans’ medical care). 
(5) Chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code 
(relating to the Federal employees’ health benefits 
program). 
(6) The Indian Health Care Improvement Act 
(25 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) ANTITRUST
LAWS.—The term ‘‘antitrust 
laws’’—
(A) has the meaning given 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 such section 5 ap-
plies to unfair methods of competition; and 
(B) includes any State law similar to the 
laws referred to in subparagraph (A). 
(2) HEALTH PLAN AND RELATED TERMS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘health plan’’ 
means a group health plan or a health insur-
ance issuer that is offering health insurance 
coverage. 
(B) 
HEALTH
INSURANCE
COVERAGE; 
HEALTH
INSURANCE
ISSUER.—The 
terms 
‘‘health insurance coverage’’ and ‘‘health insur-
ance issuer’’ have the meanings given such 
terms under paragraphs (1) and (2), respec-
tively, of section 733(b) of the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
1191b(b)). 
(C) GROUP
HEALTH
PLAN.—The term 
‘‘group health plan’’ has the meaning given that 
term in section 733(a)(1) of the Employee Re-
tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
U.S.C. 1191b(a)(1)). 
(3) 
INDEPENDENT
PHARMACY.—The 
term 
‘‘independent pharmacy’’ means a pharmacy which 
is not owned (or operated) by a publicly traded com-
pany. For purposes of the previous sentence, the 
term ‘‘publicly traded company’’ means a company 
that is an issuer within the meaning of section 
2(a)(7) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 
U.S.C. 7201(a)(7)).
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