If you feel like your work benefits have shrunk, you are not crazy.

According to the Houston Chronicle, employers are starting to scrutinize their budgets and slash employee benefits, such as dependents on health insurance plans.

Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm, actually recommends that workers read every single benefits statement and paperwork provided by their employer -- due to this trend:

"The majority assume their coverage will remain intact.

But some companies are starting to crack down, booting employees off insurance entirely if they do not fill out new paperwork each year, said Sara Taylor, Hewitt's annual enrollment leader.

'Some employers feel strongly they're paying a fair amount of money for medical, and they want people to understand it and value it,' she said."

Here are some of the areas employers are cutting corners:

• Booting off non-legal dependents from health coverage like nieces, nephews and grandchildren. “They're saying, 'We won't look back, but we're auditing the plan, so if you put them on there again, we'll find it and you'll be asked to reimburse every dollar spent on noneligible dependents,’” Watson said.

• Denying coverage to spouses who can get health coverage elsewhere.

• Scrapping flexible spending accounts. “The financial benefits of such programs, which emphasize healthy habits and preventive measures, are hard to quantify. Indeed, some early adopters are reassessing.”

• Ending fitness benefits.

The one area employers are willing to spend is smoking cessation programs. Smokers cost companies $2,000 more a year in sick time and health care than non-smokers.

I can’t imagine the hostility from workers losing benefits because some employees use the benefits more than others. How awful. We need universal healthcare now!