Today, more than 3 million Americans have chosen health savings accounts for their health-care coverage, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, which also estimates that 21 million Americans will have invested in HSAs by 2010 -- not bad for a product the government only allowed in January 2004.

However, a recent report from the Kaiser Foundation finds that almost 70 percent of Americans have never heard of an HSA.

Consumer awareness of and education about all health insurance options are increasingly important in today's fast developing, consumer-driven health insurance market.

Fewer small companies are able to afford employee health benefits and more large companies are increasing "premiums, deductibles and co-pays that employees must contribute under these programs, leading many workers to forgo their employers' insurance," according to the Wall Street Journal. The Census Bureau recently confirmed this disturbing finding.

HSAs are one important paving stone on the road out of a health-care system whose costs are leaving more of us behind.

HSAs are like IRAs or 401(k)s for your health, into which individuals and/or employers deposit tax-free dollars for use in future medical spending. They can be purchased directly by an individual or through an employer, and pair a high-deductible insurance plan with a tax-advantaged savings account.

The tax breaks associated with HSAs are several and benefit both individual insurance consumers and groups of consumers covered through their employer.

Most importantly, your health savings account is your property. If you don't spend the dollars today, they earn interest, and you can spend the money on future health needs. These accounts empower patients -- a good thing, because it also causes physicians to focus on the needs of patients rather than insurers and it continues to spur a growing movement for cost transparency in health care.

HSAs are an exciting change in health care, and one that every American should investigate.