2009 North Carolina Code
Chapter 131E - Health Care Facilities and Services.
§ 131E-192.2. Definitions.

§ 131E‑192.2.  Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this Article:

(1)        "Attorney General" means the Attorney General of the State of North Carolina or any attorney on his or her staff to whom the Attorney General delegates authority and responsibility to act pursuant to this Article.

(2)        "Cooperative agreement" means an agreement among two or more hospitals, between a hospital and any other person, or between a person who controls a hospital and another hospital or person who controls a hospital for any of the following:

a.         The sharing, allocation, or referral of patients, personnel, instructional programs, support services and facilities, or medical, diagnostic, or laboratory facilities or equipment, or procedures or other services traditionally offered by hospitals.

b.         A purchase of assets pursuant to a merger or sale, a partnership, a joint venture, or any other affiliation by which ownership or control over all or substantially all of the stock, assets, or activities of one or more hospitals or persons who control hospitals are transferred to another hospital or person who controls a hospital.

"Cooperative agreement" shall not include any agreement that would permit self‑referrals of patients by a health care provider that is otherwise prohibited by law.

(3)        "Department" means the Department of Health and Human Services.

(4)        "Federal or State antitrust laws" means any and all federal or State laws prohibiting monopolies or agreements in restraint of trade, including the federal Sherman Act, Clayton Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, and North Carolina laws codified in Chapter 75 of the General Statutes that prohibit restraints on competition.

(5)        "Hospital" means any hospital required to be licensed under Chapters 131E or 122C of the General Statutes.

(6)        "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, public or private institution, political subdivision, or government agency. (1993, c. 529, s. 5.2; 1995, c. 205, s. 1; 1997‑443, s. 11A.118(a).)