WASHINGTON (AP) - With uneven testing for steroids and inconsistent punishment, college football players are packing on rapid weight without drawing much attention from their schools or the NCAA.

An investigation by The Associated Press based on dozens of interviews with players, testers, dealers and experts and an analysis of weight records for more than 61,000 players reveals this disconnect.

Although college football believes the problem is mostly under control, steroids are easy to buy, testing is weak and punishments are lax. Rules vary so widely that, on any given game day, a team with a strict no-steroid policy can face a team whose players have repeatedly tested positive for steroids.

Experts and players say the sport's near-zero rate of positive steroids tests obscures the true scope of use among college athletes.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Medicare is warning doctors - and millions of elderly patients - that payments will be slashed next year unless Congress acts soon. The potential 27 percent cut to doctors effective Jan. 1 is the consequence of a 1990s budget law gone awry. In the past, Congress has routinely waived the cuts. But the problem just returns every year - Medicare's own version of a "fiscal cliff."

Solving it this time is more complicated because of the political impasse over deficits, taxes and spending. Although the formal notice from Medicare on Wednesday was expected, it increased worries for medical groups. The American Medical Association says Medicare would be devastated if the cuts go through, and advocacy groups such as AARP agree. Many doctors might stop taking new Medicare patients.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration is attaching a black box warning to the Vertex Pharmaceuticals hepatitis C treatment Incivek over a potentially fatal rash. The FDA says patients taking the pill in combination with two other treatments should stop immediately if they develop a rash that grows worse or comes with symptoms like a fever, diarrhea or mouth sores.

Patients taking this drug can develop a rash that covers more than half the body. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. says the drug's labeling had already warned that patients with a serious skin reaction should stop. The new warning is much more prominent on the label. Incivek is taken with the pill ribavirin and interferon, which is given by injection. A black box warning is the most serious form of safety warning.

ATLANTA (AP) - Two of Atlanta's largest hospital systems have announced plans to form their own insurance company.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday that Piedmont Healthcare and WellStar Health System have announced plans to launch a variety of insurance products in 2014 for Piedmont and WellStar employees and their relatives.

The health systems will operate their new insurance company as a joint venture for-profit enterprise.

The newspaper reports the details of the plan are still being finalized. The company expects to operate as an HMO, but plans could eventually expand to include other service providers.

ATLANTA (AP) - Health inspectors say they've shut down a cafe inside Fulton County's government building in Atlanta after receiving a complaint involving roaches.

Fulton County Environmental Health Services officials say the Chambers Café in the Atlanta Government Center downtown was closed after it was given a grade of 59 after an inspection.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the cafe is operated by a private contractor.