Today (9/27), the LA Times reports that "More U.S. Workers Go Uninsured" with the following lead.

"Health insurance premiums for American workers and their employers continue to rise faster than inflation and wages, straining companies' ability to offer coverage and leaving a growing number of workers uninsured, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Premiums rose by 7.7% in the last year, more than double the rate of inflation or increase in income, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust, which sponsor the report."

The Times story is the third one this week about businesses and health care benefits and their costs.  Yesterday, Ron French had a great piece in the Detroit News called "The General and the Beast" about how "General Motors and the nation are losing an epic battle to tame the health care beast."

Monday, the Wall Street Journal ran a front page story titled: "When Employees Pay for Health Care, the Boss Pays Too," by Sarah Rubenstein.  This story mentions cost issues, but it also covers the unique situation that today's health care options create for the boss in smaller companies.  Here's an excerpt.

"With this setup, many health-care decisions have a big impact on the pocketbook for Mr. Bond's workers. Nearly every pill or test can be a household budget buster. The lowest-paid full-time Russ Moore Transmission workers earn about $25,000 a year.

While some information is available on the Web and the company has computers in its break area, Mr. Bond estimates that fewer than half of his workers have Internet connections at home. When faced with big bills, the first instinct for many is to catch the boss as he walks by."

Wally Bock helps leaders at every level improve the performance and morale of the group they're responsible for. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless because it teaches through a story, the way human beings have always learned complex lessons best.