New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg spoke passionately today calling for “an overhaul of the health care system” to “solve the problem of the 16s”—that is, 16 percent of U.S gross domestic product spent on health care and 16 percent of Americans without insurance coverage. Mayor Bloomberg, sounding very presidential at the lunchtime keynote address of the [1] National Health Policy Conference, dodged questions about his ambitions at a follow-up press conference. When repeatedly pressed by reporters to state his intentions, he finally said, “I’m not running for President. I’m hired to make New York City the best city it can possibly be.”

The mayor applauded the politicians and states who have offered reform plans in recent weeks. On President Bush’s plan, he said it’s “very innovative, while I don’t agree with every part of it.” He declined to endorse any one plan. Instead he spoke of the need to focus on preventive medicine and electronic health records (EHRs) to improve the health of the nation. “We’re not buying the kind of health care that provides the results,” he said. “We must begin to pay for prevention.”

Bloomberg noted that the U.S. ranks 45^th in life expectancy among nations. In NYC, he reported that with the ban on smoking in restaurants and bars and new legislation to ban trans fat usage, New Yorkers are healthier than ever and now have a longer average life expectancy than the average American.

A big believer in electronic health information to improve system results, Bloomberg noted his city’s efforts to implement EHRs in every doctor’s office and clinic in the city. EHRs could spur strides in prevention as well as improve quality of care and decrease error rates. “I get notices for preventive maintenance from my dentist, vet, and even my car mechanic. Why not my doctor?”