Federal websites left locations of AIDS patients vulnerable; Researchers create tool to measure cancer health literacy;

News From Around the Web

> Websites run by the federal government to help people find medical services related to AIDS left sensitive information unprotected on the Internet, according to a Washington Post report. The two sites are now encrypting data after government officials, responding to questions from the Post, agreed the sites created privacy risks. The sites had risked exposing identities of visitors when they used search boxes to find nearby facilities offering HIV testing and, treatment. Article

> Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have created a tool to measure cancer health literacy, according to an announcement from the university. "Using this tool, it takes just 1-2 minutes in the doctor's office waiting room to identify patients with limited CHL. Then this information can be digitally communicated to the doctors prior to seeing the patients," Levent Dumenci, Ph.D., the study's lead researcher, said in the announcement. Patients take the test through a touch screen device by answering questions about cancer treatment, side effects of medication and more. Announcement

Health Insurance News

> Insurers next year will keep premiums flat or even decrease them in many parts of the country. In fact, consumers in just two states surveyed will see premium increases of 5 percent or more, according to a new study from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Article

> Voters in five states elected Republican governors on Tuesday, dashing most hopes of expanding Medicaid in Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, Maine and Kansas. Article

Provider News

> Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald says wait times at VA facilities are down 18 percent since May when allegations of secret wait lists to cover up delays in scheduling appointments caused a nationwide scandal. Article

And Finally... That's not the kind of dough burglars usually steal Article