The overarching objective of this study is to help inform the health reform policy debate as it unfolds in 2009. The committee will assess the research evidence—that has emerged since IOM’s 2001 to 2004 series of reports on uninsurance—on the consequences of uninsurance. Rather than a comprehensive review, the committee is charged with reviewing the literature to identify new insights not yet known or appreciated when IOM’s earlier reports were developed. The search for new evidence will include the published literature on the consequences of uninsurance for individuals, families, communities, specific population groups, and safety net and other providers. The consequences may be related to health outcomes, such as morbidity and mortality; access to health care services; and economic impacts such as affordability of health coverage and its associated financing burden.