A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to facilitate the entering into of cooperative agreements between hospitals for the purpose of enabling such hospitals to share expensive medical or high technology equipment or services, and for other purposes.
Hospital Cooperative Agreement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a demonstration program of ten five-year grants for collaboration among hospitals regarding the provision of expensive, capital-intensive medical technology or other highly resource-intensive services. Requires that projects be designed to demonstrate a reduction in costs, an increase in access to care, and improvements in the quality of care.
Allows grant funds to be used only to facilitate collaboration and not to purchase facilities or capital equipment. Requires at least three of the grants to be used to demonstrate how such agreements may be used to increase access to or quality of care in rural areas.
Requires cooperative agreements facilitated under these provisions to provide for the sharing of medical technology or eligible services.
Declares that it is not a violation of antitrust laws for a hospital to carry out activities under these provisions.
Authorizes appropriations.
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
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