FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1995                         (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

              TO: HEALTHCARE AND ANTITRUST REPORTERS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. --  The Department of Justice and the
Federal Trade Commission sent a letter responding to requests
from Congressman Pete Stark for the agencies' comments on two
antitrust provisions of the Medicare Preservation Act of 1995,
H.R. 2425.

     An excerpt of the letter follows:

     "The two antitrust provisions in H.R. 2425, which would
create a broad antitrust exemption for medical self-regulatory
entities and would substantially relax the antitrust treatment of
provider service networks, are unnecessary and inappropriate. 
These two antitrust provisions are unnecessary to protect any
legitimate activity; would immunize a broad range of
anticompetitive activities that could harm consumers and raise
health care costs; and could seriously undermine the cost
containment goals of Medicare reform efforts."

     Reporters interested in receiving the full text of the
letter should call the Department of Justice's Office of Public
Affairs, 202-616-2771.

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95-536