Health Care Costs to US Manufacturers Skyrocket

The cost of providing health insurance to US workers is rising so fast it can't be passed along either to workers or customers, a new study reported in the Los Angeles Times finds.
Manufacturers now spend, on average, $2.38 per worker per hour—more than twice as much as their foreign competitors—adding about $1,500 to the price of a new car.

"There's no question that if employers could push this into wages they would," said one economist. "But every single year, health care costs rise faster than productivity and wages. Thus, they try to push it into prices. But with China and India competing against you, you can't do that." (More health care costs stories.)