Silicon Valley using health care perks to lure talent

Also, Facebook is readying a move into health care by offering online "support communities" and preventive care applications.

Reuters: Silicon Valley Takes Benefits 'Arms Race' To Health Care
High salaries and free food aren't enough any more in Silicon Valley, where maturing companies are competing for talent with creative health care and "wellness" programs that use gadgets to promote good behavior. Standard benefits at the largest technology companies, including Google Inc and Apple Inc, range from fertility treatments to deluxe on-site medical clinics, to new technology treats like health-tracking bracelets. The health largesse separates Silicon Valley's raging economy from many other sectors in the United States, but tech companies' experiments with perks show signs of spreading, benefits managers say. Keeping employees healthy pays off in ways from increased productivity to lower health costs. Cutting obesity decreases risks of diabetes and other costly chronic diseases, for instance. Silicon Valley employers see themselves fighting for good engineers (Farr, 10/2).

Reuters: Facebook Plots First Steps Into Health Care
Facebook Inc already knows who your friends are and the kind of things that grab your attention. Soon, it could also know the state of your health. On the heels of fellow Silicon Valley technology companies Apple Inc and Google Inc, Facebook is plotting its first steps into the fertile field of healthcare, said three people familiar with the matter. ... The company is exploring creating online "support communities" that would connect Facebook users suffering from various ailments. A small team is also considering new "preventative care" applications that would help people improve their lifestyles. In recent months, the sources said, the social networking giant has been holding meetings with medical industry experts and entrepreneurs, and is setting up a research and development unit to test new health apps (Farr and Oreskovic, 10/3).