Universal coverage, also known as universal healthcare, refers to a healthcare system that provides coverage to all individuals. Most industrialized nations offer universal coverage to all residents. The United States, however, has a piecemeal system of coverage that leaves approximately 46 million residents uninsured at any given time. Healthcare reform efforts with the goal of achieving universal coverage are currently underway.
As you are following healthcare reform and talking with people about changes to our nation's healthcare system, it is important to keep in mind that universal healthcare and a single-payer system are not the same thing. Great Britain, for example, has a single-payer healthcare system run by the government, while the Swiss achieve universal coverage through a more heterogenous system that involves private insurance companies in addition to the government. So it is quite possible to have universal healthcare without having a single-payer system.
