Forty-three percent of employees think health benefits are more important than higher wages, according to the recent "Getting Paid In America" survey conducted by the American Payroll Association.

"With the current changes being made to our health care system, it is no surprise that health benefits are top-of-mind for many Americans," said Kevin Hill, vice president of insurance operations for Paychex. "While the role businesses will play in providing universal access to health insurance continues to be defined, business owners need to carefully weigh their options when deciding what's best for their workforce and budget, keeping in mind just how valuable quality health benefits are to employees."

Employees also perceive the cost of health care is rising faster than the actual rate. While the actual increase for 2009 was 5 percent, according to the 2009 Employer Health Benefits survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Education Trust, 67 percent of respondents guessed 7 percent or 9 percent. This means that, for 67 percent of Americans, the perception of health care costs increase is 40 percent to 80 percent higher than the actual increase.