This colloquium brought together specialists on a group of model states and countries to discuss relevant health care systems, their successes and limitations, and their potential application to the reform of health care in the United States. The event aimed to interpret the U.S. reform effort in the context of the global system and to gauge the likely gains and possible challenges that the U.S. may face with the adoption of health care proposals that were debated during the year. Issues covered included employer and individual mandates, financing mechanisms, cost containment, consumer choice, and rationing. The national health care systems of Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Britain, were discussed, as well as the early reports of successes and limitations surrounding the implementation of universal health care in Massachusetts. Panelists included Jon Kingsdale, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector; Ted Marmor, Professor Emeritus at the Yale School of Management; Kieke Okma, independent consultant and expert on the Dutch national health care system; and Mary Ruggie, Professor in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University who is an expert in the German health care system. The event was moderated by Ted Ruger, Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School.