Rising Health Care Costs a Problem for Ford
Posted on: Friday, 30 May 2003, 06:00 CDT
By AMY F. BAILEY
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) -- The skyrocketing cost of health care is one of the toughest challenges facing Ford Motor Co., Chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr. said Friday.
Ford told the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Leadership Policy Conference that the rising prices of health benefits is the "biggest issue on our plate that we can't solve."
"Health care is just out of control," he said. "It's a system that's broken. It really scares me enormously."
Last year the Dearborn-based automaker spent $2.7 billion on health care and drug charges for 93,000 white-collar workers, retires and dependents.
Changes to Ford's employee health benefits, including increased deductibles and higher prescription drug costs, take effect Sunday.
Salaried employees with families enrolled in the Ford Comprehensive Medical Plan will see their deductibles increase from $250 to $600. The out-of-pocket maximum annual payout will increase from $500 to $1,000 and prescription drug copays will increase from $5 to $7 for generic drugs.
Ford Motor Co. isn't the only automaker charging more for health care coverage. On Jan. 1, General Motors Corp. (GM) passed along premium increases averaging $25 a month to its 160,000 white-collar retirees.
The solution to the health care problem will require government and business to work together in a new way, Ford said.
Although the cost of pensions is another concern for the world's No. 2 automaker, Ford said that problem will go away when the stock market improves.
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