President Bush on Tuesday met with the CEOs of General Motors, Ford and the Chrysler Group to discuss the future of the U.S. automobile industry amid health care cost and trade concerns, the AP/Detroit News reports. GM Chair and CEO Rick Wagoner, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, and Chrysler President and CEO Tom LaSorda at the meeting told Bush administration officials that they are seeking federal and congressional action to address health care costs rather than a federal bailout. Health care costs add about $1,000 to the price of each car manufactured by the automakers, the AP/News reports. According to LaSorda, the CEOs stressed that other industries also face problems related to "specific issues like health care." Wagoner said officials also discussed the role of information technology in improving health care quality and reducing costs, as well as future efforts to examine high-cost, catastrophic medical cases that can drive up the cost of health care. The CEOs said that the meeting was productive in general and that they hope it will lead to future discussions on the issues (Thomas, AP/Detroit News, 11/14). Bush said he and the automakers discussed health care costs and their "mutual desire to reduce our dependence on foreign oil" (Congress Daily, 11/15). David Healy, an auto industry analyst for Burnham Securities, said he did not expect the meeting to have much impact on health care and trade because the administration and the industry typically have disagreed on the two issues. However, David Cole, chair of the Center for Automotive Research, said the meeting enabled the executives to "convey an impression that what the auto industry is dealing with is much larger than the auto industry" (AP/Detroit News, 11/14).

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