One of the effects of Hurricane Katrina was the closure of Charity Hospital, a place where many of the uninsured received medical care. Doctors who worked there were paid something by the state, but with the hospital now closed, some doctors are avoiding the uninsured altogether, while others, out of a sense of obligation, are providing treatment free of charge.

The politics in Louisiana on the issue revolve in part around which hospitals get state funding for treating the uninsured.

"My argument was, look, why is an uncompensated care patient worth more in Orleans than in St. Tammany? An uncompensated care patient is an uncompensated care patient," said Sen. Tom Schedler, R-Mandeville. "There never was a logical answer. It was strictly politics and the power of those regions. We got outmaneuvered and outvoted because they have more legislators.

Once they settle this question, legislators ought to take a look at the bigger picture. Charity care on the part of doctors and medical professionals is a fine thing, and public policy ought to do more to encourage it by addressing liability and other issues. But there is much more that could be done to make the private insurance market work better, such as allowing the sale of no-mandate policies and the interstate sale of insurance.