Excerpt: Taking advantage of the dynamics of the marketplace has reduced 2008 county health care costs by more than a half-million dollars from 2006. Rates reflect the emphasis on prevention and wellness, financial incentives to save and, most important, the market power placed in the hands of individual employees who will now make decisions based on their own best interests. Why does this work so well in the public sector? Simply put, it's a matter of scale. Government spends more, so we can save more. The key dynamic of the high-deductible plan is not in an incentive to defer care; remember, preventative care is free.  MORE >>