Employers jump into providing care as health costs rise

KOKOMO, Indiana (AP) — Autoworkers in this blue-collar, central Indiana city have an eager helper waiting to pick up the bill at their next doctor visit.

Fiat Chrysler is offering free health care for most of its employees and their families — about 22,000 people — through a clinic the carmaker opened this summer near one of five factories it operates in the area. The company pays for basic care like doctor visits and consults with a dietitian and even an exercise physiologist. Workers don’t pay a cent, not even a co-pay.