65-4955. Health care provider cooperation act; legislative findings; protection of public.
65-4955
65-4955. Health care provider cooperation act; legislative findings;protection of public.(a) This act shall be known and may be cited as the health careprovider cooperation act.
(b) The legislature finds as follows: (1) Technological and scientificdevelopments in health care have enhanced the prospects for further improvementin the quality of care provided to Kansas citizens; (2) the costs of improvedtechnology and improved scientific methods for the provision of health care aresignificant factors in the escalating cost of health care; (3) cooperativeagreements among health care providers concerning the provision of services canfoster further improvements in the quality of health care for Kansas citizens,moderate increases in costs, avoid duplication of resources and improve accessto needed services in rural areas of Kansas; and (4) because cooperativeagreements may require health care providers to collaborate on the provision ofservices, thereby raising the issue of anti-trust effects, regulatoryoversight of cooperative agreements is necessary to ensure that thebenefits of agreements outweigh any disadvantages attributable to any reductionin competition resulting from such agreements.
(c) Cooperative agreements approved pursuant to this act articulate andimplement the policy of the state to improve and protect the quality andavailability of health care to Kansas citizens. Continued active supervision bythe state over all aspects of such agreements, and the standards andrequirements established by this act, will provide protection to the publicoffsetting the loss of protection otherwise provided by competition.
History: L. 1994, ch. 153, § 1; April 14.