Not Yet Introduced , The Reconciliation Recommendations of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

• This bill has been mooted by the passage of another bill on the same subject or by other events. Check 'Related Bills' below to see if other bills on this subject have been passed into law. Mooted: 2/8/2006.
• This item is from the 109th Congress (2005-2006) and is no longer current. Comments, voting, and wiki editing have been disabled, and the cost/savings estimate has been frozen.

This legislation would make a variety of changes to the Medicaid program, provide funding for health and energy relief in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and modify the terms of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) authority to auction licenses for use of the electromagnetic spectrum. Subtitle A would reduce net Medicaid outlays in a number of ways, most substantially by allowing states to reduce benefits and impose additional cost-sharing requirements and premiums on certain enrollees, reducing payments for prescription drugs, and tightening the rules relating to asset transfers prior to eligibility for Medicaid long-term care services. Those savings would be partly offset by an expansion of home- and community-based services and other benefit expansions. Subtitle B would provide a temporary increase in the federal matching rates for Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi and establish other policies directed at areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Subtitle C would provide increased funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Subtitle D would amend existing law regarding the FCC's authority to auction licenses to use the electromagnetic spectrum. It would set a firm date for television broadcasters to switch from analog to digital signals, and would allow the Department of Commerce to spend some of the resulting auction proceeds for programs to assist consumers and others in making that transition.