Today, New York health regulators proposed revised rules that would allow health care providers to merge or cooperate with one another without being subject to federal or state antitrust scrutiny.

The state’s Department of Health proposed regulations establishing a process for entities to obtain a Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) pursuant to Public Health Law Article 29-F.  Article 29-F sets forth the State’s policy of encouraging appropriate collaborative arrangements among health care providers who might otherwise be competitors, if the benefits of such arrangements outweigh any disadvantages likely to result from a reduction of competition.  The statute requires the Department to establish a regulatory structure allowing it to engage in active state supervision as necessary to promote state action immunity under state and federal antitrust laws.

The proposed regulations were initially published in the State Register on September 18, 2013, and have been revised in light of public comments received.  The revised regulations will be open for public comment for 30 days and will take effect upon publication of a notice of adoption.  A Notice of Revised Rulemaking appears in the today’s State Register, and a copy of the full text of the regulatory proposal is available on the Department’s website.