Health/Insurance News Round-Up

■ One supposes that this is "Good News," if only for a segment of the business sector:

"Baby boomer deaths could fuel funeral industry.

(T)he death rate of about 8.1 per 1,000 people is expected to inch significantly upward sometime in the next decade and eventually go as high as 10.9."

This is a very telling statistic: at just shy of 11 deaths per thousand people, that "high" is still fairly low, perhaps as a result of (expensive) new medical treatments and (inexpensive) personal responsibility on the part of our senior citizens.

Since I'm about to knock on the door of that cohort (come this Monday), I suppose I should be grateful.

■ I've maintained for a long time that "disco is dead," but that's apparently not entirely true:

"Disco tune "Stayin' Alive" could save your life

U.S. doctors have found the Bee Gees 1977 disco anthem "Stayin' Alive" provides an ideal beat to follow while performing chest compressions as part of CPR on a heart attack victim."

I'm not entirely sure that I'd really want to survive an onslaught of Saturday Night Fever showtunes.

[Hat Tip for above two items: James Taranto]

■ And for fans of S-CHIP, some not-so-good news:

"Hawaii Ending Universal Child Health Care After 7 Mos.

Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in the country just seven months after it launched."

And why is that, you ask?

Regular readers no doubt already know:

"Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program."

Not exactly a surprise, given the nature of the beast. When care is available for free, why would folks bother to pay for it? And that's exactly how these types of plans work: by shifting taxpayer dollars almost directly to providers, consumers have no incentive to pay out of their own pockets.

And there's a more insidious (or, perhaps, deliberate) side-effect:

"A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan."

Again, why would someone pay for their childrens' insurance when the taxpayer has already ponied up for them?

And for a more in-depth look at this news, check out Bob's post.

[H/T: Jeff M]