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Article: A Heftier Dose To Swallow; Rising Cost of Health Care in U.S. Gives Other Developed Countries an Edge in Keeping Jobs
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- March 6, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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For each mid-size car DaimlerChrysler AG builds at one of its U.S.
plants, the company pays about $1,300 to cover employee health care
costs -- more than twice the cost of the sheet metal in the vehicle.
When it builds an identical car across the border in Canada, the
health care cost is negligible.
In the battle for manufacturing jobs, the United States has always
been at a disadvantage compared with underdeveloped countries where
wages are low. But the rapidly rising cost of health care in the
United States means that even developed countries sometimes have an
edge when it comes to keeping jobs, according to interviews with
dozens of corporate executives, legislators and health care ...