While the folks in Washington talk about how to reform the health care system, many of the nation's employers and state governments are actually making it happen. They are finding ways not only to control costs, but also to provide better care.

The latest example comes from America's heartland - Indiana - where five years ago, newly elected Governor Mitch Daniels asked that a consumer-directed health insurance option, or Health Savings Account (HSA), be added to the conventional plans then available to state employees. He thought that the plan may interest a few of the state's 30,000 employees.

Today the HSA option has proven to be popular with more than just a few. This year, over 70 percent of the state's workers chose it and with good reason. The employees enrolled in the consumer-driven plan will save more than $8 million in 2010 compared to their co-workers in the old-fashioned preferred provider organization (PPO) alternative. That's a pretty nice pay increase for workers who have seen their salaries frozen for the last two years.