IN: Champions League
Updated Apr 12, 2013 2:16 PM ET

It's Spain vs. Germany twice over in the Champions League semifinals.

Barcelona plays Bayern Munich in a clash of teams ranked by UEFA as the two best in Europe. Bayern hosts the first leg.

Real Madrid faces Borussia Dortmund in a repeat of their 1998 semifinal, when the Spanish side dethroned the reigning champion. Dortmund is at home first.

''It's the best match possible in this competition,'' Barcelona director Amador Bernabeu told The Associated Press. ''It's difficult for us and for Bayern.''

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the Bayern chairman, said he was ''very happy'' to play the ''top favorite to win the Champions League.''

''I find it very thrilling to be playing against the best team in Europe,'' Rummenigge said.

Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp was content to avoid a German rival which already took his team's Bundesliga title this season. ''I don't have to repeat that Real is a difficult opponent, but from the three possible opponents Real is the only one we've beaten this season,'' Klopp said.

Friday's draw featured four former European champions who have combined to win 18 titles in the competition's 58-year history. It avoided a repeat of the Spanish giants' ill-tempered semifinal in 2011, when Barcelona advanced after winning 2-0 in a spiteful first leg in Madrid which included players and coaches brawling near the tunnel at halftime.

Return games are on April 30 in Madrid and May 1 in Barcelona. The final is on May 25 at Wembley Stadium, where Barcelona lifted the giant trophy two years ago. Barcelona and Bayern, both four-time European champions, stand atop the UEFA rankings based on their record in European club competitions over the past five years. Barcelona has won two Champions Leagues in that spell, and beat Bayern in the quarterfinals on its 2009 title run.

''We got a fearsome beating there, 0-4,'' Rummenigge recalled. ''Messi alone ran circles around us. It's going to be a Herculean task to limit (him).''

Bayern was runner-up last season against Chelsea and also in 2010 against an Inter Milan team coached by Jose Mourinho. Now at Madrid, Mourinho can become the first coach to lead three different clubs to the title. He also won with Porto (2004), and joined Ernst Happel (Feyenoord 1970, Hamburg 1983) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (Dortmund 1997, Bayern 2001) as two-time winners.

Madrid, a nine-time European champion, and Dortmund, met in the group stage. Dortmund won 2-1 at home and then was denied a victory by the same score at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when Germany international Mesut Oezil scored an 89th-minute leveler.
What is a short summary of the above article?

OUT: Barcelona will travel to Bayern Munich while Borussia Dortmund will host Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinal Barcelona will travel to Bayern Munich, while Borussia Dortmund hosts Real Madrid

Q: What To Know About The Health Care Debate

In a press conference on Wednesday evening, President Obama defended efforts to reform health care (See "Punting on Paying for Health Care"). Criticizing the status quo as the "devil" Americans know, he argued that health care inflation is a threat to the country's global competitiveness and economic future.

That much both parties can agree on. The rest of it--particularly the hot-button topics of cost, coverage, funding, taxes and improving value--has sparked fierce arguments over ideology and governance.

To help you better navigate the sprawling and complex debate, here's our primer on the issues driving reform. Please return for updates.

Cost Annual total health costs have reached $2 trillion and were expected to rise by twice the rate of inflation in 2008. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual premium for an employer health plan that covers a family of four was $12,700 in 2008, a 5% increase from the previous year.

Yet, consumers have little to show for the sharp increase. While premiums have increased, employer-sponsored benefits have been pared back by companies that are trying to shed costs.

The economy also can't sustain the rapid increase in health care inflation. Total spending now accounts for 16% of the country's gross domestic product; the Congressional Budget Office estimates it will reach 48% by 2050 if uncorrected.

Coverage The debate over health reform revolves around two central principles: driving down costs and providing coverage to an estimated 47 million uninsured Americans. Though the two seem unrelated, advocates of universal coverage argue that providing coverage will nearly eliminate uncompensated care and thereby decrease premiums.

The president and many Democratic members of Congress support creating a government-run public plan, which would provide coverage to the uninsured. Those who prefer to keep their current insurance may do so, but everyone will be required to have insurance. Those who cannot afford to purchase it will receive subsidies from the government. Carriers will be required to cover patients despite pre-existing conditions. Providing universal coverage is estimated to cost at least $1 trillion over the next decade.

Opponents of the public plan argue that it would allow the government to set below-market rate prices and drive private insurers out of business. On Wednesday evening, Obama argued that the public plan would help keep insurance companies "honest" and "incentivize the private sector to do even better."

Financing Funding options include a proposal (See "ObamaCare: Who Gets Hit and How Hard") by the House to charge the wealthy--those with incomes of $350,000 and above--a surtax of 1% and higher. Businesses with payrolls exceeding $400,000 that don't provide coverage to employees would also be subject to a penalty equivalent to 8% of payroll. This proposal is estimated to bring in $544 billion over 10 years, about half of the cost of universal coverage.

In his budget, the president proposed paying for universal coverage by targeting waste in Medicare. He proposed adjusting reimbursement rates to physicians and hospitals and requiring private plans in the Medicare Advantage category to submit competitive bids. He also proposed limiting the value of itemized tax deductions for families who make $250,000 or more.

Taxes Employer-based coverage is currently a tax-deductible expense for companies. If the government had taxed coverage in 2007, it would have netted $246 billion in revenue. This is a tempting funding source for universal coverage, but it remains politically controversial.

Though President Obama criticized Sen. John McCain during the campaign for supporting this policy, he recently said that he is open to reversing the exclusion in a way that doesn't disproportionately affect middle-class families.

Improving the Value of Care The debate over reform has largely broken down along party lines and the subject of improving care is no exception. Many Democrats believe comparative effectiveness--the practice of evaluating the efficacy of certain treatments and procedures based on clinical evidence--should be central to any reform.

The Institute of Medicine recently released a list of 100 priorities, which include comparing the effectiveness of certain biologics, treatments for lower back pain and strategies for pregnancy prevention.

Many Republicans, on the other hand, see comparative effectiveness as the gateway to the "rationing" of health care. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell recently said that he supported the idea of clinical research, but does not want it used to determine which treatments and procedures are accessible to Americans.

Timeline The conventional wisdom earlier this year was that legislation would pass before the August recess. This became less realistic in late July thanks in part to resistance from Blue Dog Democrats and moderate Republicans who have pressed the issue of cost control.

The president also softened his stance on the August deadline at his press conference, saying that he would not sign a rushed bill that did not sufficiently achieve cost control. On Thursday, Senate majority leader Harry Reid announced that the Senate would not vote on a bill until after Congress reconvenes on Sept. 8.
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A:
How cost, coverage, financing, taxes and improving value are driving the reform discussion.