Elisabeth Rosenthal, Columnist

Why Hurricanes Are Like Health Care

Insurance is costly. If it's optional, guess who ends up paying for recoveries from medical and meteorological disasters.

Houston, we have a problem.

Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty Images
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As Congress continues to struggle with health insurance reform, members should be ruminating on the scenes of "recovery" beaming in from East Texas and Florida, where the majority of households — many now severely damaged or destroyed — had not purchased flood insurance.

QuickTake Hurricanes and Typhoons