On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) into law, making the most sweeping changes to the Medicaid system since 1993. As a result of this legislation, Medicaid recipients can expect to face higher co-payments and deductibles, while more affluent seniors will find it far more difficult to qualify for Medicaid-covered nursing home care since the new legislation imposes punitive new restrictions on the ability of individuals to transfer assets before qualifying for Medicaid coverage of nursing home care. In response to the Act, the LexisNexis Elder Law Editorial Board created this special pamphlet, containing analysis of the legislation, a copy of the letter from Senator Henry A. Waxman to Nancy Pelosi (Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives) that details the basis of the Constitutional challenge to the DRA, the text of the relevant portions of the Act, plus a red-lined version of the affected sections of the U.S.C.S.