§ 35-24-104 — Application for exception; contents; notice; joint application; filing fee; confidentiality of trade secret information; extension of time limitations

(a) An application for approval of an antitrust exception
shall include to the extent applicable:
(i) A descriptive title;
(ii) A table of contents;
(iii) Exact name of each party to the application and
the address of the principal business office of each party;
(iv) The name, address and telephone number of the
persons authorized to receive notices and communications with
respect to the application;
(v) A verified statement by a responsible officer of
each party to the application attesting to the accuracy and
completeness of the enclosed information;
(vi) Background information relating to the proposed
arrangement, including:
(A) A description of the proposed arrangement,
including a list of any services or products that are the
subject of the proposed arrangement;
(B) An identification of any tangential services
or products associated with the services or products that are
the subject of the proposed arrangement;
(C) A description of the geographic territory
involved in the proposed arrangement;
(D) If the geographic territory described under
subparagraph (a)(vi)(C) of this section is different from the
territory in which the applicants have engaged in the type of
business at issue over the last five (5) years, a description of
how and why the geographic territory differs;
(E) Identification of all products or services
that a substantial share of consumers would consider substitutes
for any service or product that is the subject of the proposed
arrangement;
(F) Identification of any services or products
of the proposed arrangement which are currently being offered,
capable of being offered, utilized or capable of being utilized
by other providers or purchasers in the geographic territory
described under subparagraph (a)(vi)(C) of this section;
(G) Identification of necessary action for other
parties to enter the territory described under subparagraph
(a)(vi)(C) of this section and compete with the applicant under
current market and regulatory conditions;
(H) A description of previous dealings between
the parties to the application;
(J) A detailed explanation of the projected
effects including expected volume, change in price and increased
revenue of the arrangement on the current business of each
party;
(K) The present market share of the parties to
the application and of others affected by the proposed
arrangement and projected market shares after implementation of
the proposed arrangement;
(M) An explanation of why the projected levels
of costs, access or quality could not be achieved in the
existing market without the proposed arrangement.
(vii) A detailed explanation of the effect of the
transaction on quality, access, containment of health care costs
and the promotion of a comprehensive health care system in the
state, which shall to the extent applicable, address the factors
specified under W.S. 35-24-111(c) through (g).
(b) In addition to the information required under
subsection (a) of this section, the application shall contain a
written description of the proposed arrangement for purposes of
publication. The applicant shall also provide notice to the
public and all interested persons making timely request for
advanced notice of applications under this section. The notice
shall be approved by the director, shall include sufficient
information to advise the public of the nature of the proposed
arrangement and enable the public to provide comments concerning
the expected results of the arrangements and shall advise that
any person may provide written comments to the director, with a
copy to the applicant, within thirty (30) days of the date of
publication. If the director determines that the submitted
notice does not provide sufficient information, the director may
after consultation with the applicant and the applicant agrees
with the amendment, amend the notice before publication or
disapprove the application.
(c) For a proposed arrangement involving multiple parties,
one (1) joint application shall be submitted on behalf of all
parties to the arrangement.
(d) An application shall be accompanied by a filing fee to
be determined by the department based upon the estimated cost of
investigating, analyzing, reviewing and processing the
application, including any contested case proceeding or appeal,
in accordance with this chapter. The fee structure shall
include a sliding scale based upon revenue generated by the
parties applying for the exception during the preceding year.
The annual renewal fee shall not exceed two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500.00). Any unused portion of the fee
shall be refunded to the applicant. All fees collected by the
department under this subsection and W.S. 35-24-112(d) shall be
deposited into a separate account and will be available to
reimburse department start-up costs prior to submittal of the
application. Expenditures from the account shall be for expenses
incurred by the department in administering this chapter.
(e) Trade secret information including information
provided as part of the application process and ongoing
supervision, shall be protected from disclosure in accordance
with W.S. 16-4-203(d)(v). An applicant shall designate the
information provided in the application which it considers to be
protected from disclosure in accordance with W.S. 16-4-203(d).
The director shall deny public access to any information so
designated, subject to the right of a person denied inspection
to appeal to the district court in accordance with the
provisions of W.S. 16-4-203(f). Any information not so
designated shall be available for public inspection in
accordance with the provisions of W.S. 16-4-201 through