FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE         Contact: Charles Young, GE Medical Systems
November 29, 1999                      Pager:    888-864-3332
                                       Mobile:   414-870-f2866
                                       Email:    charles.young@med.ge.com

                              Contact: David Allinson, CFO, MECON, Inc.
                                       Phone:    925-552-6960
                                       Email:    djallins@mecon.com

    GE MEDICAL SYSTEMS SIGNS DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE HEALTHCARE DATA
                           MINING LEADER MECON, INC.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. And SAN RAMON, Calif., Nov. 29 - GE Medical Systems, a business
of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and MECON, Inc. (Nasdaq: MECN) announced
today that the companies have signed a definitive agreement for MECON to merge
its operations with GE Medical. MECON is a leading provider of Internet-based
benchmarking and cost management solutions for healthcare systems.

In this transaction, MECON shareholders will receive $11.25 per share payable in
GE stock. The actual number of shares of GE stock that each MECON shareholder
will receive will be based on the trading prices of GE stock for a period of
time prior to the closing of the transaction. "The future success of healthcare
is all about productivity, and MECON has built a strong business around driving
clinical and operational efficiency for health systems," said Jeffrey R. Immelt,
GE Medical Systems President and CEO. "With its rapid movement to web-based
offerings, MECON is an industry leader in data mining and healthcare
informatics, and this transaction will further enable GE Medical to provide
solutions to our customers' most critical economic issues."

"MECON has taken decisive steps recently to reposition the company to be a
leading provider of internet-based healthcare productivity solutions," said Vasu
R. Devan, MECON's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "MECON's
shareholders, customers and employees will benefit from this merger, which
combines the resources of GE Medical with MECON's innovative business model for
driving improved customer financial performance."

This transaction, which is subject to MECON shareholder approval, government
approvals and other customary conditions, is expected to close by February 2000.
The boards of directors of both GE and MECON have approved the merger.

In connection with the merger agreement, MECON granted GE an option to acquire
newly issued shares of MECON common stock, representing 19.9% of its total
shares outstanding, at the $11.25 per share transaction price. In addition, Mr.
Devan and another director entered into shareholder agreements in which they
agreed, among other things, to vote the shares they control, representing
approximately 20% of the MECON shares outstanding, in favor of the proposed
merger.

About MECON, Inc.

MECON, headquartered in San Ramon, California, brings an integrated solution to
healthcare providers who seek answers to their cost reduction challenges.
MECON's family of Internet-based benchmarking data, software products, and
consulting services identify opportunities for




improvement, fix problem areas, and sustain high levels of performance. The
Company's customers use the MECON suite of products and services to quantify,
develop, and implement strategies to reduce costs and improve quality across the
continuum of care.

About GE Medical Systems

GE Medical Systems is a $6 billion global leader in medical diagnostic equipment
and services, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR),
ultrasound, conventional and digital x-ray, patient monitoring and diagnostic
cardiology, and healthcare information management.