First Edition: July 19, 2010

Today's headlines include the latest news regarding the politics of implementing health reform as well as developments from the international AIDS conference now underway in Vienna.

KHN Column: When Bad News About Health Reform Isn't Bad
In his latest Kaiser Health News column, done in collaboration with The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn writes: "The weekend's newspapers included a pair of headlines about health care reform. And they were probably not the kind that reform advocates like to see" (Kaiser Health News).

Changing Stance, Administration Now Defends Insurance Mandate As A Tax
When Congress required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax. But in court, the Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an exercise of the government's "power to lay and collect taxes" (The New York Times).

Abortion Foes Win Round In Health Overhaul
Abortion foes have scored a victory and traditional allies of the Obama administration are grumbling about a decision to ban most abortion coverage in insurance pools for those unable to purchase health care on their own (The Associated Press).

CHC To Dems: Remember Our Deal
A group of Democratic lawmakers wants to use the immigration reform debate to fix one of the most hotly contested aspects of the health care law — provisions that bar immigrants from using new government programs to get coverage (Politico).

AIDS Funding Flat In 2009
Global funding to combat HIV/AIDS essentially flattened in 2009 as the economic crisis forced governments in major industrialized countries to scale back their contributions, according to a new report (The Wall Street Journal).

AIDS Conference Chief Lashes Out At World Leaders
World leaders lack the political will to ensure that everyone infected with HIV and AIDS gets treatment, the head of a meeting dedicated to the disease said Sunday (The Associated Press).

Study Looks At HIV And Policy
The prevalence of HIV infection among heterosexuals in U.S. inner cities constitutes a generalized epidemic, a new U.S. study says (The Wall Street Journal).

In US Cities, HIV Linked More To Poverty Than Race
Poverty is perhaps the most important factor in whether inner-city heterosexuals are infected with the AIDS virus, according to the first government study of its kind (The Associated Press).

He's Not A Patient, But Plays One In Class
Matthew Sharbaugh checked himself into a nursing home recently, complaining of chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, congestive heart failure, and right-side weakness from a recent stroke. He is 24 (The Boston Globe).

German Hospitals Can Ill Afford End To Draft
A proposal in Germany to abolish compulsory military service is drawing major opposition from unlikely quarters—the thousands of hospitals and other public-service providers where most young German men end up fulfilling their draft duties (The Wall Street Journal).

Kaiser Health News summarized the weekend's headlines, including more GOP reaction against the recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as well as news about rising insurance costs.