There is growing concern about the number of people in the United States who have no health insurance. For some, the concern stems from the lack of access to health care for the uninsured and its ultimate effect on their health status and productivity. For others the concern arises from a sense that the present system of financing what care the uninsured receive involves cross subsidies and taxation that are inequitable. The rising number of uninsured in this decade -- from about 30 million people in 1980 to 37 million people in 1987 -- coupled with the increasing pressures on providers from private and public sector cost containment are forces that have served to sharpen concern recently.