With nearly 45 million Americans without health insurance, expanding coverage to the uninsured is a major, national health policy issue.   There is a large body of research that documents the relationship between health insurance coverage, access to health care, and ultimately health outcomes.   Furthermore, those lacking coverage are disproportionately low-income and thus more financially vulnerable to the high cost of care, exposed to higher out-of-pocket costs compared to the insured, and more often burdened by medical bills.

The recent economic downturn and persistent increases in the cost of health insurance premiums has contributed to the recent growth in the uninsured.  However, options for decreasing the number of uninsured continue to be debated with little consensus on the best and most affordable strategy. Some proposals emphasize making the individual insurance market more affordable, others would expand eligibility for public programs, while others propose a combination of private and public approaches.  Rising health care costs, fiscal constraints in the public sector, and broad ideological divisions on the respective roles of government and the private sector are major hurdles faced by policy makers in their efforts to expand coverage.   

This page contains links to key research, policy analysis, and the latest data and statistics on the uninsured.