To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for Federal funding of a Bridges of Hope for Transitional Health Insurance Program to provide, through State inter-governmental public health authorities, displaced employees with assistance for health insurance premiums for themselves and their families.

Summary: Bridges of Hope for Transitional Health Insurance Act of 2006 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to provide funds to eligible public health authorities for the provision of temporary assistance to individual workers who have suffered from permanent changes in a major segment of industrial production employment in a sector of the economy in an area through irreversible structural changes.

Sets forth funding eligibility requirements, including that there is an economic dislocation in the area that results in the creation of an employment shortage for individuals in a particular segment of the industrial economy that is attributable to national treaties, statutes, policies, and objectives.

Requires a program to: (1) provide assistance in paying for health care premiums for employees and former employees (and their family members) in the area served by the authority; and (2) provide such assistance on a sliding scale that does not take into account the value of an individual's homestead or other non-liquid assets.

Allows an eligible public health authority to aggregate and assign individuals to various insurers and to negotiate on behalf of the authority and the federal government for health insurance opportunities that improve the range of coverage and plans or that result in a more reasonable premium or a greater mix of coverage and covered services.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bridges of Hope for Transitional 
Health Insurance Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The national policy of advancing global free trade 
        through treaties such as NAFTA, CAFTA and supporting the 
        accession of certain countries to the World Trade Organization 
        have opened the markets of the United States to a range of 
        products that have facilitated the export of American jobs and 
        resulted in the enormous loss of employment in the United 
        States for our citizens.
            (2) This transformation has not been accompanied by a 
        Federal commitment to reorient, retrain, relocate, or re-employ 
        individuals in selective State economies dependent upon a 
        previously robust industrial employment opportunity to minimal 
        immediate new economic opportunities through well-funded 
        temporary assistance and economic support program capable of 
        breaching the loss of jobs and economic opportunities thereby 
        leaving individuals in the depressed States without the 
        opportunity to maintain a decent quality of life and health 
        security by threatening the loss of health insurance coverage.
            (3) The responsibility for the transformation of State 
        economies where economic dislocation occurs is the primary 
        responsibility of the governmental unit whose policies caused 
        such a change in the underlying economic base and have such 
        profound impacts that the State alone cannot be reasonably 
        expected to mobilize financial resources to bring about 
        prosperity when the State's own tax resources are declining.
            (4) The impact has been to so erode the underlying 
        structural base of a State that results in a decline in funding 
        for existing health safety and welfare programs that may be 
        supported by the State government. Acting alone the State 
        government cannot remedy the devastating impact on individuals 
        who must alter the quality of their lifestyle so radically that 
        health choices become beyond the reach of average families who 
        have no where else to go.
            (5) In the State of Michigan alone the average unemployment 
        rate has been 2.5 times the national average for over 56 months 
        and the State is projected to lose more than 63,000 more 
        factory jobs by 2007 with no hope for rapid implementation to 
        re-employ such individuals whose only real wealth is their 
        homestead that cannot be relocated and whose skill levels. But 
        these individuals cannot find employment to replace the wages 
        they lost and they are risking foregoing payment of health 
        insurance in order to preserve their homestead.
            (6) The distress suffered by these State industrial 
        economies cannot be rectified by State Governments alone and it 
        requires the intervention of the Federal Government to provide 
        a bridge fund of transitional financial assistance to 
        individuals to maintain their health insurance premium 
        payments.
            (7) The Federal Government has the responsibility to 
        establish a health insurance premium enhancement program to 
        provide individuals a continuity of care and continuum of 
        lifestyles in a circumstance where the balance of cost-of-
        living expenses and mortgage payments force them to abandon 
        health care coverage and may subject them and their families to 
        irreparable harm thereby endangering the health safety and 
        welfare of everyone in their communities.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a Bridges of 
Hope for Transitional Health Insurance Program to provide premium 
relief for individual workers through a local public health authorities 
acting as a fiduciary on their behalf.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF BRIDGES OF HOPE FOR TRANSITIONAL HEALTH 
              INSURANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Public Health Service Act is amended by adding 
at the end the following new title:

``TITLE XXIX--BRIDGES OF HOPE FOR TRANSITIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

``SEC. 2901. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
this title to provide funds to eligible public health authorities (as 
defined in section 2903(1)) for the provision of temporary assistance 
to individual workers who have suffered from permanent changes in a 
major segment of industrial production employment in a sector of the 
economy in an area through irreversible structural changes.
    ``(b) Application by Eligible Public Health Authorities.--
            ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive funds under 
        this title, an eligible public health authority shall submit an 
        application with the Secretary in such form and manner as the 
        Secretary specifies.
            ``(2) Prompt consideration of application.--Such an 
        application shall be treated as complete and accurate unless 
        the Secretary, within 60 days of the date of the application's 
        submission, provides notice to the submitting official that--
                    ``(A) states that the application is either 
                incomplete or inaccurate (or both); and
                    ``(B) provides specific reasons for the application 
                being incomplete or inaccurate.
    ``(c) Approval of Applications.--
            ``(1) Requirements.--The Secretary shall not approve the 
        application under subsection (b) of an eligible public health 
        authority serving an area within a State unless the Secretary 
        determines that the following requirements are met:
                    ``(A) Economic dislocation.--Such application 
                includes (or is accompanied by) a statement of specific 
                facts that demonstrate that there is an economic 
                dislocation in such area that--
                            ``(i) results in the creation of an 
                        employment shortage for individuals employed in 
                        a particular segment of the industrial economy; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) is attributable in part to national 
                        treaties, statutes, policies and objectives.
                    ``(B) High unemployment.-- The unemployment rate in 
                such area, and in such State, is 25 percent higher than 
                the national average unemployment rate for six or more 
                calendar quarters.
                    ``(C) High tax burden.--The tax burden (as measured 
                by the percentage of per capita income estimated to be 
                spent on State and local taxes) for the State is above 
                the national average of such tax burden for all the 
                States.
            ``(2) Priority.--The Secretary shall give priority in 
        approving an application of an eligible public health authority 
        that is serving a State that has a population of at least 
        9,000,000 and an unemployment rate that is at least 7 percent 
        (or, if less, at least 2.5 percentage points above the national 
        unemployment rate).
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--Funds provided under this section to an 
        eligible public health authority shall be used by the authority 
        to provide a program (in this title referred to as a `Bridges 
        program') that--
                    ``(A) provides assistance in paying for health care 
                premiums for employees and former employees (and their 
                family members) in the area served by the authority; 
                and
                    ``(B) meets the applicable requirements of 
                subsection (e).
            ``(2) Authorities.--An eligible public health authority 
        provided funds under this title is authorized to use such funds 
        to carry out a Bridges program and, in connection with such a 
        program, for any of the following purposes:
                    ``(A) To make public service announcements about 
                the availability of the funding under this title.
                    ``(B) To develop an intake system for applicants 
                under the program and retain contractors to assist in 
                the application process.
                    ``(C) To verify income, employment home ownership 
                documents, credit reports, and tax returns for the 
                validity of current financial circumstances.
                    ``(D) To establish various programs and co-pays for 
                individuals to participate in the program until gainful 
                employment makes the assistance unnecessary.
                    ``(E) To negotiate with various health insurance 
                and group health plans to provide health benefits 
                coverage (including coverage under a COBRA continuation 
                provision, as defined in section 2791(d)(4)) under the 
                program in a manner that is affordable and coverage a 
                broad type of services.
                    ``(F) To monitor coverage provided under the 
                program.
            ``(3) Limitation on use of funds for administrative 
        purposes.--An eligible public health authority may use not more 
        than 5 percent of the funds provided to it under this title for 
        administrative purposes.
    ``(e) Program Requirements.--A Bridges program of an eligible 
public health authority shall meet the following requirements:
            ``(1) Sliding scale assistance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The program shall provide 
                assistance with premium payments on a sliding scale 
                that takes into account--
                            ``(i) the financial condition (and previous 
                        financial condition) of the individual 
                        involved;
                            ``(ii) the wage structure and compensation 
                        scale for similar individuals within the area 
                        served by the program; and
                            ``(iii) the amount of disposable income 
                        remaining for that individual based on their 
                        fixed costs and discretionary spending.
            ``(2) Guidelines.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The authority shall establish 
                and publish guidelines--
                            ``(i) for the type and level of individual 
                        support provided based on different income 
                        levels, including the allocation of premium 
                        responsibility between the authority, the 
                        individual, and an employer (or former 
                        employer); and
                            ``(ii) for verification and validation by 
                        the authority of individual applicants.
                    ``(B) Treatment of assets.--Such guidelines--
                            ``(i) shall not take into account the value 
                        of the homestead or other non-liquid assets of 
                        the individual; and
                            ``(ii) shall be designed to result in a 
                        level of assistance for an individual necessary 
                        to cover the cost of maintaining adequate 
                        health benefits coverage for the individual and 
                        the individual's family at a level that 
                        preceded the adverse consequences of the 
                        economic dislocation for the area involved.
            ``(3) Assignment to insurers; negotiation authority.--An 
        eligible public health authority may aggregate and assign 
        individuals making application to the authority for assistance 
        under this title to various insurers and may negotiate on 
        behalf of the authority and the Federal government for health 
        insurance opportunities that improve the range of coverage and 
        plans or result in a more reasonable premium or a greater mix 
        of covered services and coverage on behalf of the enrolled 
        members.

``SEC. 2902. FUNDING.

    ``(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated, beginning with fiscal year 2007, such sums as may be 
necessary to provide for funding to eligible public health authorities 
under section 2901.
    ``(b) Distribution of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--Of the amounts appropriated under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide for the 
        distribution of funds, among authorities with applications 
        approved under section 2901, based upon a formula that, subject 
        to paragraph (2), takes into account--
                    ``(A) the number of individuals (and families) for 
                which assistance will be provided by each authority;
                    ``(B) the income levels for such families; and
                    ``(C) the cost of health benefits coverage (for 
                which such assistance will be provided) in the area 
                involved.
            ``(2) Overhead allotment.--Of the funds made available 
        under this title to eligible public health authorities, there 
        shall be made available to each authority (before the 
        application of the formula under paragraph (1)) an amount 
        (specified by the Secretary) that would allow for the immediate 
        establishment of the administrative framework in order to 
        implement a Bridges program in the area served by such 
        authority.
    ``(c) Supplemental Funding.--The funds provided by this title are 
in addition to, and shall not in any manner diminish, the current level 
of financial assistance and support to any programs that are provided 
for under any other appropriation providing assistance to hospitals and 
providers, and shall not affect benefits provided to businesses or 
individual workers under any unemployment program or otherwise. Funding 
under such programs shall not be diminished as a result of assistance 
provided under this title.

``SEC. 2903. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For purposes of this title:
            ``(1) The term `eligible public health authority' means a 
        public agency that--
                    ``(A) is created pursuant to State law (which may 
                be through an intergovernmental compact authorized 
                under such law);
                    ``(B) is comprised of two or more units of 
                government;
                    ``(C) has a catchment area that includes a 
                population of at least 125,000 individuals; and
                    ``(D) has a charter that includes, as a principal 
                purpose, the provision of assistance to local, county, 
                and State units of government or employers, employees 
                and health insurance organizations or security pools 
                regulated by State government.
            ``(2) The term `State' includes the District of 
        Columbia.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 2(f) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
201(f)) is amended by striking ``or 1633(1)'' and inserting ``1633(1), 
and 2903(2)''.