The Medical Expert Report

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Tuesday examined how across the U.S., "some insured patients are being asked by hospitals to pay larger portions of their bills upfront -- and sometimes hospitals will not do the procedures until they get their copayments.

The number of HIV/AIDS cases recorded in the Philippines is increasing, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said on Tuesday, adding that the prevalence of the disease in the country remains low, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. Duque said that even though the Philippines is a low-prevalence country, it "should not be a reason to be complacent.

Health Net has agreed to pay $26 million in restitution and interest and $15 million in fines and other charges to settle allegations that it underpaid out-of-network claims for 88,000 New Jersey members between 1996 and 2005, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance announced Tuesday, the Bergen Record reports.

Increased connections among brain cells caused by excessive drug use may represent the body's defense mechanism to combat addiction and related behaviors, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

A coalition of more than 30 HIV/AIDS advocacy groups representing minority communities in the U.S. has called on presidential candidates Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to develop a comprehensive national strategy to fight HIV/AIDS, VOA News reports.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday sent a letter to acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems demanding a "full accounting" of how the agency underestimated the extent of improper Medicare payments for durable medical equipment, the Miami Herald reports (Weaver, Miami Herald, 8/27).

A Massachusetts law that expands buffer zones around abortion clinics was ruled constitutional Friday by U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro, the AP/Boston Herald reports (AP/Boston Herald, 8/25). Tauro said the law "passes constitutional muster under the First Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Due Process Clause.

Cane toads weren't allowed to compete in the Olympics, but scientists have raced cane toads in the laboratory and calculated that they would not be able to invade Melbourne, Adelaide or Hobart and are unlikely to do well in Perth or Sydney, even with climate change.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) on Tuesday spoke at the Democratic National Convention in support of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and his proposals on health care and other issues, Dow Jones reports.

The clinical laboratory company LabCorp is offering a new blood test aimed at detecting ovarian cancer at an early and still treatable stage, but the test is being met with concern among many physicians and medical organizations, the New York Times reports.

IT SEEMS to happen with depressing frequency - sunny skies turn to rain just as the weekend arrives. Now Spanish researchers say they have evidence that in some parts of Europe the weather really does follow a weekly cycle, although not in the straightforward way that the anecdote might suggest.

USA Today on Wednesday, as part of an ongoing series about retirement issues in the 21st century, examined how many of the 1.6 million baby boomers at age 62 who will become eligible for Social Security this year "have postponed plans to retire" because of health care costs and other economic concerns.

Republicans "went on record" while debating their election platform on Tuesday "with a reaffirmation of their hard line on abortion," the AP/Talking Points Memo reports. During the platform debate, the party stuck to its call for a constitutional amendment banning abortion. The party also "toughened already uncompromising language on the issue, according to the AP/Talking Points Memo.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in collaboration with the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has issued guidance to improve the safety of patients in the NHS in England and Wales by reducing the risk of pneumonia in patients aged 16 years and older who are on a ventilator.

Mainstream belief regarding identity theory tends to portray adolescents as the sole agents involved in their identity development. However, a new article in the Journal of Research on Adolescence reveals that parents are concerned, involved, and reflective participants in their children's identity formation.

One of the hopes of having diverse campus environments is that the daily interaction with students from different backgrounds will promote interracial understanding and friendship.

Injury prevention experts have long known that teens are less likely than other motorists to wear seat belts while driving. Now, researchers from the Meharry-State Farm Alliance at Meharry Medical College have discovered lack of seat belt use by teen passengers may be an even bigger problem.

Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have found that in a given week, over 10 million Americans are taking opioids, and more than 4 million are taking them regularly (at least five days per week, for at least four weeks). These findings appear in the August 31 issue of the journal Pain.

Researchers from St. Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri report that EUS and EUS-FNA is 99.

Most college students understand how they can prevent the transmission of HIV but are less knowledgeable about HIV testing, according to a new University of Georgia study.