Sec. 1. 22 MRSA c. 405-D, as amended, is further amended by repealing the chapter headnote and enacting the following in its place:

CHAPTER 405-D

HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDER COOPERATION ACT

Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §1881, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 814, §1, is amended to read:

§1881. Short title

This chapter may be known and cited as the "Hospital and Health Care Provider Cooperation Act of 1992."

Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §1881-A is enacted to read:

§1881-A.__Legislative findings; intent; purpose

1.__Findings.__The Legislature makes the following findings.

A.__Health care costs in Maine have been increasing much more rapidly than the ability of its citizens to support these increases.

B.__The escalating costs of Maine's health care system are unsustainable and threaten the well-being of the citizens of the State.

C.__It is necessary and appropriate to encourage hospitals and other health care providers to cooperate and enter into agreements that will help facilitate cost containment, improve quality of care and increase access to health care services.

2.__Intent; purpose.__It is the intent of the Legislature to protect the public health and promote the public interest by encouraging hospitals and other health care providers to cooperate and enter into agreements that will help facilitate cost containment, improve quality of care and increase access to health care services.__It is the intent of the Legislature that a cooperative agreement for which a certificate of public advantage has been issued will not violate any law governing impermissible restraint of trade and that issuance of such a certificate will provide state action immunity under the federal antitrust law.

Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §1882, as amended by PL 1995, c. 583, §§1 and 2, is further amended to read: