Big Three leaders sign on to federal plan to improve health care while reducing costs

Detroit's Big Three automakers, which have voiced their concerns about high health care costs to President Bush, gave their support Monday to a set of federal standards designed to lower the costs and improve the quality of health care.

Rick Wagoner, General Motors Corp. chairman and chief executive; Tom LaSorda, president and CEO of DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group; and Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., joined U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt at a Detroit Economic Club meeting to sign on to his department's Value-Driven Health Care initiative.

The automakers pledged to provide quality and price information about doctors, hospitals and other medical providers for all enrollees in their health care insurance programs. The plan also calls on them to encourage the use of electronic medical records and develop incentives for those who buy or provide high-quality, competitively priced care.

"We believe value-driven health care is the right prescription for America and we're pleased to endorse your initiative," Wagoner told Leavitt.

Leavitt said the support of the Big Three, as well as 30 other Michigan companies, covers about 2 million people.

Bush signed an executive order in August that committed federal health programs to the standards. Leavitt moved the program into the private sector in November.

Wagoner, LaSorda and Ford CEO Alan Mulally met with Bush in November after several delays. They have sought changes to the nation's health care system, which have led to high retiree costs for the companies.

The automakers are struggling against high labor costs and international competition, among other issues.

Michigan's congressional delegation released a letter to Bush in November that said the domestic automobile industry spends about $10 billion a year providing health care benefits to more than 2 million U.S. residents. Encouraging use of generic prescriptions drugs and a new way of dealing with catastrophic health care costs could reduce the financial burden for automakers, the delegation said.