Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont have already passed laws aimed at providing health insurance to everyone, with help for people who can't afford it on their own. Many other states are considering similar laws, and presidential candidates have put forth proposals to broaden coverage.

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, believes that any reform should ensure that financial barriers don't stop people from getting the care they need, and that the U.S. should move rapidly toward a system that makes clinical decisions based on scientific evidence instead of profit and moderates health-care cost inflation.