At present the company pays 100 percent of all workers' health-care costs.

Other hospital executives said the ruling would add to health-care costs.

The cost has been rising by about 10 percent a year, much faster than private health-care costs.

But no significant differences were found for other health-care costs.

Employees at those companies, who pay some of their own health-care costs, are saving money.

The Clinton administration's plan assumed that health-care costs would continue to rise.

On the other side are companies trying to hold down health-care costs, the employee expense most likely to break the bank.

At the same time, health-care costs, taxes and everything else is still going up.

Only a quarter of this cost was estimated to be direct health-care costs.

The company said the move was an attempt to hold down health-care costs.