WASHINGTON – A GE project dubbed “healthymagination” will put $3 billion over six years into research and development to launch at least 100 innovations aimed at providing better healthcare while cutting costs.

GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt said the company would also commit $2 billion in financing and $1 billion in related GE technology and content to drive healthcare information technology in rural and underserved areas. It includes a new TV program on MSNBC, low-cost X-ray machines, an advisory board that includes two former Senate majority leaders (Tom Daschle and Bill Frist) and partnerships with leading healthcare systems Intermountain Health and the Mayo Clinic.

“We will invest in innovations that measurably improve cost, access and quality,” Immelt said last month. “That means lower-cost technology for more customers, products matched to specific local needs and process expertise to help customers win. This reflects the new opportunities we see in healthcare. Our newest innovations – low-cost digital X-ray machines, portable ultrasounds, and more affordable cardiac equipment – will save costs for doctors, hospitals, the government, families and businesses. This will help level the playing field in healthcare.”
“This is the right time to reposition our healthcare business, given the changes and challenges in the industry,” said GE Healthcare President and CEO John Dineen. “Our customers are looking for productivity and solutions. We will focus on the products, the process excellence and the partnerships that broaden access to healthcare and reduce its cost.”

Former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle, who will serve on GE’s healthymagination advisory board, said, “We can only find real solutions in health care when business, government and their partners work together.”