President Bush used part of his State of the Union address to launch his consumer-driven health care reform. The idea is that patients can better scream about expenses once they more fully understand how much a trip to the doctor or a procedure at the hospital actually costs. The revolution is also built around exercise, diet and other smart-living measures, which companies and insurers should encourage with incentives.

Since his address, the president has been campaigning for his plan, and recent events are helping his cause:

—The American Medical Association announced last week that it will create ways for patients to judge the quality of their medical care. Yeah, you read that right. The AMA, the stodgy granddaddy of all health organizations, will produce 100 or so measures of medical work. Patients and insurers then can become better shoppers for health care.

—The National Governors Association held healthy living seminars this weekend at its annual Washington meeting. The sessions featured chefs and fitness experts.

It may sound loony that governors discussed food, but several years ago, another group of them began an important movement to help parents, legislators and doctors understand how the brain develops before age 3. We hope the food-a-thon, which Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee assembled, will spur an equal wave in preventive care.

It's now time for Congress to join the revolution. Specifically, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee should have hearings on the president's request for expanded use of health savings accounts. There was chatter about these accounts when administration officials came before the committees to talk about next year's budget. But no hearings are scheduled.

Health savings accounts are a key tool in this revolution. The sooner Washington can expand their use, by allowing employees to take their accounts with them from job to job, for example, the sooner the revolution revs up. Given double-digit increases in health premiums, it makes little sense for legislators to wait.

— The Dallas Morning News