Our Health Policy Matters

Thirty years ago, AIDS was a total mystery to us. Six years into what CDC already termed an epidemic, 358 AIDS cases in twenty states had been confirmed and 136 people had died.  No one knew why. Several people I knew were probably already infected with HIV.  I learned this only as they died over the next few years.  One was a popular Connecticut Congressman, Stew McKinney, who was a moving force behind federal funding for services for homeless people.  Another was a lawyer named Jim Hurley. I first met Jim when we were high school debaters.   His school debated against my school at several local and regional debate tournaments.  I remembered him as bright, easy-going, and friendly. We reintroduced ourselves during our first year in college, when we crossed paths in his dormitory one day.  He hadn’t changed much.  He was personable, still friendly, and happy to exchange a few stories about Catholic high schools and debating...

Thirty years ago, AIDS was a total mystery to us. Six years into what CDC already termed an epidemic, 358 AIDS cases in twenty states had been confirmed and 136 people had died.  No one knew why. Several people I knew were probably already infected with HIV.  I learned this only as they died over the next few years.  One was a popular Connecticut Congressman, Stew McKinney, who was a moving force behind federal funding for services for homeless people.  Another was a lawyer named Jim Hurley. I first met Jim when we were high school debaters.   His school debated against my school at several local and regional debate tournaments.  I remembered him as bright, easy-going, and friendly. We reintroduced ourselves during our first year in college, when we crossed paths in his dormitory one day.  He hadn’t changed much.  He was personable, still friendly, and happy to exchange a few stories about Catholic high schools and debating...