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to subsection (b) and shall not confer the protections of
section 343.
(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW: INAPPLICABLE WITH RE-
SPECT
TO NOTIFICATIONS.—Any action taken or not
taken by the Attorney General, the Secretary, or the Com-
mission with respect to notifications filed pursuant to this
section shall not be subject to judicial review.
(g) ADMISSIBILITY INTO EVIDENCE: DISCLOSURE OF
CONDUCT; PUBLICATION OF NOTICE; SUPPORTING OR
ANSWERING CLAIMS UNDER ANTITRUST LAWS.—
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
fact of disclosure of conduct under subsection (a)
and the fact of publication of a notice under sub-
section (b) shall be admissible into evidence in any
judicial or administrative proceeding for the sole
purpose of establishing that a person is entitled to
the protections of section 343.
(2) No action by the Attorney General, the Sec-
retary, or the Commission taken pursuant to this
section shall be admissible into evidence in any pro-
ceeding for the purpose of supporting or answering
any claim under the antitrust laws.
232
SEC. 345. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON COMPETITION,
ANTITRUST POLICY, AND HEALTH CARE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established
the Interagency Committee on Competition, Antitrust Pol-
icy, and Health Care (hereinafter in this section referred
to as the ‘‘Committee’’). The Committee shall be composed
of—
(1) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices (or the designee of the Secretary),
(2) the Attorney General (or the designee of the
Attorney General)
(3) the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget (or the designee of the Director), and
(4) a representative of the Federal Trade Com-
mission.
(b) DUTIES.—The Duties of the Committee are—
(1) to discuss and evaluate competition and
antitrust policy, and their implications with respect
to the performance of health care markets, and
(2) to make such recommendations to the Con-
gress not later than 1 year after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, and thereafter as the Commit-
tee considers to be appropriate, regarding achieving
both health-care cost containment and greater access
to quality health care through cooperation among
health care providers.
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Subtitle I—Encouraging Enforcement
Activities of Medical Self-Regulatory Entities
PART 1—APPLICATION OF THE CLAYTON ACT TO
MEDICAL SELF-REGULATORY ENTITIES
SEC. 351. ANTITRUST EXEMPTION FOR MEDICAL SELF-REG-
ULATORY ENTITIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Except as provided in para-
graph (2), no damages, interest on damages, cost of suit,
or attorney’s fee may be recovered under section 4, 4A,
or 4C of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 15, 15a, 15c), or
under any State law similar to such section, from any
medical self-regulatory entity (including its members, offi-
cers, employees, consultants, and volunteers or committees
thereof) as a result of engaging in standard setting or en-
forcement activities that are—
(A) designed to promote the quality of health
care provided to patients, and
(B) not conducted for purposes of financial
gain.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not prohibit the recovery of
actual damages, interest on damages, the cost of suit, or
a reasonable attorney’s fee under section 4 or 4A of the
Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 15, 15a), or under any State law
similar to such section, by a State or the United States
from a medical self-regulatory entity (including its mem-
234
bers, officers, employees, consultants, and volunteers or
committees thereof) for injury sustained as a result of en-
gaging in the conduct described in such paragraph.
(b) FEES.—In any action under section 4, 4C, or 16
of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 15, 15c, 26), or under a
similar State law, brought against any medical self-regu-
latory entity (including its members, officers, employees,
consultants, and volunteers or committees thereof) as a
result of engaging in conduct described in subsection
(a)(1), the court shall award the cost of suit, including
a reasonable attorney’s fee, to a substantially prevailing
defendant.
SEC. 352. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this subtitle:
(1) The term ‘‘medical self-regulatory entity’’
means a medical society or association, a specialty
board, a recognized accrediting agency, or a hospital
medical staff.
(2) The term ‘‘standard setting and enforce-
ment activities’’ means—
(A) accreditation of health care practition-
ers, health care providers, medical education in-
stitutions, or medical education programs,
(B) technology assessment and risk man-
agement activities,
235
(C) the development and implementation of
practice guidelines or practice parameters, or
(D) official peer review proceedings under-
taken by a hospital medical staff (or committee
thereof) for purposes of evaluating the quality
of health care provided by a medical profes-
sional.
PART 2—CONSULTATION BY FEDERAL AGENCIES
SEC. 357. CONSULTATION WITH MEDICAL SELF-REGU-
LATORY 
ENTITIES 
RESPECTING 
MEDICAL
PROFESSIONAL 
GUIDELINES 
AND 
STAND-
ARDS.
Any Federal agency engaged in the establishment of
medical professional standards shall consult with appro-
priate medical societies or associations, specialty boards,
or recognized accrediting agencies, if available, in carrying
out medical professional standard setting and guidelines
or standards relating to the practice of medicine.
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