This bad bill creates medical cartels.

•Competing health professionals practicing independently would gain a blanket antitrust exemption so they could bind together and bargain collectively with health plans and insurers.

•"We have antitrust laws for a reason: cartels harm consumers and diminish competition," Ms. Grealy wrote.

Creating a "Wild West" scenario of lawlessness does nothing to contain costs, expand access or improve quality.

•H.R. 1304 suspends, for the benefit of a special interest, the antitrust law that protects consumers.

•The resulting cartels would not be accountable to any oversight body, such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice or the National Labor Relations Board.

•"In effect, the sheriff would be powerless to act because the law would no longer apply to certain groups."  One side in contract negotiations would be bound by antitrust law while the other side would not.

This legislation will cause health care costs to rise and hit consumers in the pocketbook.

•The Congressional Budget Office estimates that H.R. 1304 will cost the government more than $22 billion over 10 years.  CBO projects that average doctor income will increase by 15 percent.

•An independent estimate found that private health insurance premiums will rise by up to 13 percent a year should this legislation become law.  Higher health costs will mean more Americans become uninsured.

•Federal health programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, will experience higher costs because of H.R. 1304's effects.

Already, independent practitioners act in anticompetitive ways that put patients at risk.  However, at present, thanks to antitrust laws, this conduct is illegal.

•For example, 1,800 dentists in Puerto Rico recently had to settle Federal Trade Commission charges of price-fixing, boycotting providers and restraining truthful advertising.