Daily Briefing: Melinda Gates Unruffled by Catholic Contraception Criticism

Women’s Health: Melinda Gates, who is Catholic, has been criticized by Catholic bloggers for her campaign to provide low-income women access to birth control. "I think we made birth control and contraceptives way too political in the United States," Gates said. She has no intention of altering her plans based on the criticism, reports Stephanie Smith for CNN.

Global Health: More than 60 children have died in Cambodia after a severe fever of unknown cause, reports USA Today. Perhaps related from the AP/seattlepi.com: In Indonesia eight people have died from bird flu this year.

Hospital Infections: At least 27 cases of hepatitis C have been traced back to a single employee in the cardiac catheterization lab of a New Hampshire hospital. Even more people are suing, reports Kim Carollo for ABC News.

Health Economics: Even with federal subsidies to expand Medicaid coverage, states will also have to pay. Studies suggest that some states will save money by insuring more people through Medicaid, reports Annie Lowery for the New York Times.

CEO Pay: A study found that the amount a hospital's cheif executive was paid had no relation to that hospital’s quality or costs, reports Jay Hancock for Kaiser Health News.