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The Washington Post on Sunday examined how companies are developing different ways to increase workers' responsibility for their own health care costs while maintaining worker satisfaction. According to the Post, health care benefits "are an increasing concern among workers, though managers do not seem to realize just how big a worry they are." The Post cites a recent study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, which found that no employer thought health care coverage was a main reason for top employees to leave a company but that 22% of top-performing employees said they would consider leaving a company if benefits were reduced or became too costly. Jane Weizmann, a senior consultant with Watson Wyatt, said, "The job market is booming. When [employers] look at it that way and think of health care as a satisfier or dissatisfier, you think, 'If I have to pass higher costs on, how do I package that and make sure the deal feels balanced?'" Some companies, such as Marriott, offer no-cost preventive care "to take the edge off" higher costs for employees, the Post reports. Another company, Maryland-based Black & Decker, provides its workers with up to $300 to spend on healthy products like exercise equipment, gym memberships and on-site Weight Watchers programs. Other companies provide employees with incentives to complete health risk appraisals and to use generic medications. According to Tracy Watts, a principal with Mercer Human Resource Consulting, "Employers are very interested in this because by making employees healthy, they are also more productive. It's also a more efficient way to pay for health care" (Joyce, Washington Post, 11/26).
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