WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal court judge Friday dismissed an antitrust lawsuit against a national program that matches medical residents with jobs in teaching hospitals around the country.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled that legislation signed into law in April by President Bush effectively exempted the program from antitrust claims.

Three medical students filed a lawsuit in 2002 alleging that the match system violates antitrust laws by denying residents the freedom to negotiate wages and working conditions with prospective employers.

Friedman rejected arguments that the provision – inserted into a pension bill – was passed “furtively” in an effort to avoid public opposition. The court, he said, must interpret the laws, not second-guess the lawmakers. The measure was retroactive and specifically said match programs do not violate antitrust laws.

Congress members at the time disagreed over whether the antitrust provision, sponsored by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., would affect the students’ lawsuit. But Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who also backed the exemption, argued that the match program is a crucial part of the effort to produce good physicians.

Under the match system, students put together a list of their top hospital choices, and the hospitals list their preferred students. A complicated computer algorithm sorts it out and essentially assigns students to their top choice of hospitals that also want them.

The lawsuit claimed the system artificially keeps wages low and hours long because hospitals can share salary information and force residents to accept below-market salaries.

AP-ES-08-13-04 1827EDT