SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Pharmacy 
Fairness Act of 2011’’. 
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 activities described in 
section 7 of such Act. Such a pharmacy shall, only in con-
nection 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 con-
tractor, managerial 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. 
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(c) NO CHANGE IN NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS 
ACT.—This section applies only to independent phar-
macies 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) LIMITATIONS ON EXEMPTION.—Nothing in this 
section shall exempt from the application of the antitrust 
laws any agreement or otherwise unlawful conspiracy 
that— 
(1) would have the effect of boycotting any 
independent pharmacy or group of independent 
pharmacies, or would exclude, limit the participation 
or reimbursement of, or otherwise limit the scope of 
services to be provided by, any independent phar-
macy or group of independent pharmacies with re-
spect to the performance of services that are within 
the scope of practice as defined or permitted by rel-
evant law or regulation; 
(2) allocates a market among competitors; 
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(3) unlawfully ties the sale or purchase of one 
product or service to the sale or purchase of another 
product or service; or 
(4) monopolizes or attempts to monopolize a 
market. 
(f) LIMITATION BASED
ON MARKET SHARE
OF 
GROUP.—This section shall not apply with respect to the 
negotiations of any group of independent pharmacies with 
a health plan regarding the terms of any contract under 
which such pharmacies provide health care items or serv-
ices for which benefits are provided under such plan in 
a PDP region (as defined in subsection (j)(4)) if the num-
ber of pharmacy licenses of such pharmacies within such 
group in such region exceeds 25 percent of the total num-
ber of pharmacy licenses issued to all retail pharmacies 
(including both independent and other pharmacies) in 
such region. 
(g) 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. 
(h) NO APPLICATION TO SPECIFIED FEDERAL PRO-
GRAMS.—Nothing in this section shall apply to negotia-
tions between independent pharmacies and health plans 
pertaining to benefits provided under any of the following: 
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(1) The Medicaid Program under title XIX of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.). 
(2) The State Children’s Health Insurance Pro-
gram (SHIP) 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.). 
(i) 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 
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(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’’— 
(i) means a group health plan or a 
health insurance issuer that is offering 
health insurance coverage; 
(ii) includes any entity
that con-
tracts with such a plan or issuer for the 
administering of services under the plan or 
coverage; and 
(iii) includes a prescription drug plan 
offered under part D of title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act and a Medicare Advan-
tage plan offered under part C of such 
title. 
(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)). 
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