A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found health care costs are soaring at twice the rate of inflation.

In Central Texas, two, very different companies are teaming up with their employees in hopes that a healthier workforce leads to a healthier bottom line when it comes to health care.

In South Austin, some of the 40 employees who make up Sherry Matthew's Advocacy Marketing take part in a fitness boot camp. About 18 miles up the road, some of Dell's 11,000 Round Rock employees are also put through the paces.

One giant corporation and one small business -- both hope healthier employees will lead to a healthier bottom line when it comes to healthcare costs.

"On average, health care costs have increased about 10 percent per year over the last four to five years," said Tre McCalister, Dell's senior manager for Global Benefits.

"It's out biggest worry every year," said Sherry Matthews who owns Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing.

When she started her company more than 25 years ago, she not only provided health insurance for all of her employees and their family members -- she paid for everything -- her employees didn't even have to pay a percentage of the premiums. Then, about eight years ago, an employee with diabetes needed a kidney transplant.

"Our premiums increased 400 percent," Matthews said. "Our insurance agent sat down with me and she said, 'Sherry you can't afford to do this.'"

With her company now up to 20 employees, Matthews learned her insurance premiums would now cost her $240,000 a year.

"That was more expensive than the payroll," she said.

Since then, Matthews says she has had to find creative ways to not only lower her company's insurance costs, but do it in a way that her employees wouldn't take the hit, so she started encouraging them to live healthier lives.

Since she started the on-site workouts more than two years ago, Matthews' employees have lost a collective 400 pounds.

"Since I've been on the program I've lost 10 pounds, and I haven't missed a sick day, really. So I'm sure that's beneficial to the company," said Kenna Williams, Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing employee.

But here's the question -- do the employees who are quite literally investing some sweat equity in lowering the company's health care costs think it's fair that they have to pay the same for their health insurance premiums as those who don't work out or who smoke?

"Thinking about the fact that it is, that we are paying the same for our premiums, I guess it is a little -- I'll use the word -- unfair," said Lucie Bardone, Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing employee.

"I think it would have to be a real healthy balance where maybe I can get an extra perk because I'm healthier, but without taking the other people down," said Charles Webre, Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing employee.

Matthews says while her hiring practices would never discriminate against anyone with a genetic health problem, as health care costs continue to skyrocket, she says it's just good business sense to look long and hard at some potential employees -- like those who smoke.

"I always say, I'm not asking you if you smoke, but I'm letting you know that if you do, you can't smoke here. You can't smoke in the building, you can't smoke in the parking lot, and if you do smoke, I won't pay for your health insurance. You'll have to pay your own premium and it's $500 a month per person," Matthews said.

At Dell, the computer giant made a comprehensive health improvement program available to its employees in 2004. The "Well At Dell" initiative features state-of-the-art fitness centers, cafeterias with an emphasis on heart healthy selections, as well as clinical coaching to help some employees reduce their blood pressure or even quit smoking.

Dell reports that nearly 65 percent of its employees, like Scott Hand, take part in some aspect of the company's health care programs. And it's not only the company's bottom line that gets a healthier outlook.

"Here at Dell, we get an incentive on our health insurance premiums, where if we work out and participate in the "Well At Dell" that we actually get money back on our health insurance costs," said Hand.

That can be as much as $300 per employee and $600 for their families.

"Before we got this program, we got nothing back, so being healthy allows us to get something back," Hand said.

And as long as more employers and employees continue to see a return on a healthier lifestyle, more companies and employees are likely to team up to stop the financial bleeding of rising health care costs.