More than 700 small-business owners served by professional employer organizations, or PEOs, responded to the November survey by the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO).

The amount of companies in the survey that offer benefitsó95 percentóis unusually high, as soaring costs make benefits especially hard for small businesses to afford. (Fewer than half of American companies with less than 10 employees offer health benefits, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.)

Increasingly, small businesses outsource many human resources responsibilities, including payroll, workers compensation and health benefits, to PEOs.

NAPEOís first quarterly survey also found more than half the companies responding said their employees were interested in wellness programs to prevent ailments like diabetes and heart disease.

As health costs jump, almost all the companies that participated in the survey said they wonít raise the amount employees contribute to their health benefits next year. However, they didnít explicitly rule out raising employeesí out-of-pocket expensesówhat they actually pay at the doctorís officeólike deductibles and co-payments, as many companies large and small across the nation are planning.

According to NAPEO, companies that use PEOs find they make it easier and more cost-effective to offer health benefits by assuming the work of administering a health-care plan.

ìIf America is going to resolve the health-care crisis, it will take all hands on deck,î Milan P. Yager, executive vice president of NAPEO, said in a release. ìThe small business owners and operators in this surveyóworking with their PEOsóare champions of health care options that match todayís workforce.î

To read the full report, go to www.napeo.org/newscenter/research.cfm.