H.R. 6403 (109^th): Bridges of Hope for Transitional Health Insurance Act of 2006

12/6/2006--Introduced.

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.