Health care issues have been one of the main headaches for businesses in California for a decade.

So now, some businesses have decided its better to keep their employees healthy before they need treatment later.

Americans have spent an ever-growing portion of their paychecks on health care and for the most part gotten less for their money, forcing millions into the ranks of the uninsured, according to government figures and several independent assessments.

The Washington Post reports workers' costs for health insurance have risen by 36 percent since 2000.

And a Mercer Health Care survey shows business costs have risen nearly 10-percent in per-employee health care costs since 2005... Four times the rate of inflation.

So a growing number of large employers are finding wellness care is almost more important than treating illness and injury.

Essentially the ounce of prevention being worth more than a pound of cure.

That's been the case with Aera Energy which years ago built a work-out facility at its Oasis plant out in the Midway- Sunset oil fields for its workers stuck in the boon-docks for long periods of time.

And has now built such facilities at nearly all of its locations as a way to help keep its 11-hundred employees healthy and working.

Aera officials like Ron Jones, the Aera Wellness Coach, say they're committed to wellness preventative care.

"We're starting to see a trend, our injuries are starting to go down. We need about 6 more months of data to really show some statistically important data, but i think it's working very well so far."

As a way to help employees and their families know their importance to the company a health and wellness fair was held Tuesday, featuring some 40 health care exhibitors, and safety demonstrations. They even had the new hi-tech Segway transporters in their parking lot to take for a test drive.

"As a company, we have a vested interest in employees being healthy and able to be on the job. And also their families because they are mostly all subscribers to our health plan," explained Kathy Daniel, an Aera nurse, who organized the health fair.

Aera's CEO, Gene Voiland is also the President of the California Chamber of Commerce and has seen the advantages of wellness care.

"I think it's the kind of thing corporations should do these days. Making your employees or having them aware of the basic things that affect their health. I think it's good business for them, it makes them healthier and happier and it's good for our business because if we want the people here at work, if they're healthy, they're here at work."

Voiland says in today's business environment they need to find ways of keeping all the good employees they can or those employees will end up at their competition.

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(Updated 7.5.06)