The above discussion makes clear that the federal and state antitrust laws are all encompassing in the effort to insure that the marketplace remains competitive. Despite the sweeping nature of the law, PHDs receive a clear immunity from coverage under the state antitrust law and a probable immunity from federal law or, at least, an exemption from damages. In these days of increasing cooperative ventures, it is clear that from an antitrust perspective, a PHD will be safest when collaborating with other PHDs or with other public entities. However, in the future, ventures with private parties will be a necessity for many PHDs in order to continue to provide quality health care to their communities. This topic is intended to provide a basic understanding of antitrust law for the discussion of collaborative ventures in Topic IV. In considering the antitrust implications of such activities, it should be remembered that most joint ventures are perfectly legitimate and do not raise antitrust concerns. In fact, neither federal enforcement agency has ever challenged a health care joint venture.