The rising price of natural gas has spurred the energy industry to drill wells in a deep natural gas deposit known as the Marcellus Shale, whose vast extend includes much of Western Pennsylvania. It could be a boon for businesses, farms and individuals holding land on which drillers want to sink a gas well. But if landowners aren't careful, they could get taken to the cleaners.

Drilling companies typically use their own standard lease agreements, which usually favor the drilling companies. Instead of signing this standard contract, landowners should negotiate better terms.

For example, a typical lease has a "primary term" -- a fixed period of time in which the drilling company must commit to drill a well or pay some bonus or delay fee to the landowner to avoid termination of the lease. Unless there is a significant bonus or delay fee paid to increase or extend the primary term, the landowner should minimize its length.

Pennsylvania law says drillers must pay a royalty equal to at least one-eighth of a well's production to the landowner. Landowners should try to negotiate a royalty that is greater than the minimum. The landowners also should try to negotiate a bonus payment upon signing the lease in addition to the right to receive a royalty.

Landowners also should insist the agreement contains a provision to protect them from liabilities or lawsuits arising out of the drilling company's activities on the property, including a failure by the drilling company to follow applicable laws.

Only by negotiating a customized contract will landowners ensure that their rights are protected.

-- Carl Staiger, Meyer, Unkovic & Scott, cfs@muslaw.com

A recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found that the No. 1 concern of small business owners was the cost and availability of health insurance.

One of the factors contributing to health-care inflation is the cost of prescription drugs. But employers can help lower the cost of their prescription drug plans by making sure that they allow employees to try some simple cost-cutting measures:

• Use of generics: Employees should be encouraged to ask their physicians to prescribe generic drugs when they are available and appropriate. With generic drugs, employees can get many of the prescriptions they need at the same level of quality, strength and purity as their brand-name counterparts at 30 to 60 percent less in price.

• Pill splitting: Under the guidance of a physician, pill-splitting programs can save individuals half of their co-pays. Pill-splitting programs, first introduced by UnitedHealthcare, allow physicians to prescribe twice the dosage and have the employee split them in half to get their regular dose, allowing the employee to pay one 30-day co-pay for a 60-day supply.

• Mail-order pharmacy: Ordering a 90-day supply by mail can often cut the co-pay cost, while saving monthly trips to the pharmacy for maintenance medications.

-- Stephanie Bernaciak-Massaro, UnitedHealthcare, svbernaciak@uhc.com