Employers arent accustomed to hearing good news about their health-benefit costs, but might take some comfort in the findings of a recent survey by Mercer Health & Benefits. The survey shows that rising costs have leveled off in each of the past

Low-income earners are interested in helping design employment benefits chosen to meet their needsand paying attention to their choices could improve their health, say authors of a new survey of Washington, D.C.-Baltimore-area low-income earners

Creighton Engineering Inc.s fire risk management business is ablaze, says company President Scott Creighton. From 1996 until 2004, Creighton Engineering completed about a dozen risk-engineering projects in Washington state, he says. Since 75

Fresenius Medical Care North America plans to open a new dialysis center near Hayden, Idaho, in November. The Waltham, Mass.-based company operates five other dialysis centers in Spokane, Post Falls, and Coeur dAlene in a joint venture with a

The city of Spokane has chosen five companies from around the U.S. and Canada to supply six small wastewater treatment units for use in a two-year, $7.7 million pilot project, says Dale Arnold, the citys director of wastewater management. Hayden,

The Spokane office of Seattle-based Olympic Associates Co. has been named construction manager for projects northwest of Spokane and in the Tri-Cities with a total value of about $35.5 million. Olympic Associates will oversee $18.5 million in a

Unicep Packing Inc., of Sandpoint, says its anticipating a big jump in revenue next year and plans to hire 13 employees soon to accommodate growth.Unicep makes and fills one-dose, squeezable vials that hold products ranging from hair gel to a

A Spokane couple who bought nearly 93 acres on the West Plains from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane late last month say they plan to develop a big commercial center there.Walter Knopp says he and Bonita Greene bought the land for $2.3 at

A group that includes William Bud Dashiell, founder of the former United Security Bank, has filed papers to launch a new bank to be called United Community Bank, which has plans to open branches initially in the Suncrest area northwest of and a

As health-care costs eat up a growing share of employers budgets, a relatively new strategy for controlling those costsinvolving the use of consumer-directed health plans, or CDHPsis gaining popularity.In a national survey of health plans