Overview

Despite our booming economy, nearly 43 million people—or one-sixth of the U.S. population—still lack health insurance coverage. People without insurance risk not only dire health consequences, but also financial disaster if they become very sick.

Helping the uninsured gain coverage should be a public policy priority. With this in mind, The Commonwealth Fund Task Force on the Future of Health Insurance commissioned 10 experts on different aspects of health insurance policy to investigate different proposals for expanding coverage.

The Task Force commissioned papers dealing with insurance for working people that lack access to both employer-based coverage and publicly funded coverage. Many of these families have incomes that are low, but still above 100 percent of the federal poverty line. However, this is a diverse population with complex needs. Uninsurance rates are highest among young adults, employees of small firms, and the near poor, but significant numbers of the uninsured fit into none of these categories.

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