By AP/St. Louis Public Radio
WASHINGTON – The big aircraft maker Boeing Co. says "cost pressures" from the new health care law are part of the reason it's asking employees to pay more for their medical benefits next year.
In a letter mailed to employees late last week, Boeing said deductibles and copayments are going up significantly for some 90,000 nonunion workers.
The company cited three major reasons for the cost shift, including untamed health care inflation, the effects of the new law, and lifestyle issues including being overweight and lack of exercise.
Spokeswoman Karen Forte said Boeing is concerned that its relatively generous plan will get hit with a new tax under the law in 2018, but that the company would have made the changes anyway.