WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- The head of the Ford Motor Co. has urged new solutions to rising healthcare costs and other problems threatening the U.S. economy.
In a speech before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Ford CEO Bill Ford Jr., also cited fair trade agreements, legal reforms and government promotion of new technologies as the biggest issues of economic concern, the Detroit News said.
Ford called healthcare the biggest drag on the competitiveness of Detroit's automakers and said he hoped the Bush administration and Congress would specifically look at the costs of catastrophic care. Ford spent $3.2 billion on healthcare last year and faces another steep increase next year.
Ford and other manufacturers have stepped up pleas for relief from rising healthcare with lawmakers. Recent surveys have shown the sharp rise in healthcare has made employers reluctant to hire new employees.
