Ban trans-fats and replace with fruit & vegetable vendors
Last year, we didn't just ban trans-fats. We've increased the availability of healthy foods in neighborhoods where they are hardest to find and also raised the number of street vendors who sell fruit and vegetables.
This year, we will raise the quality
of food served in every City agency--that's nearly 1.5 million meals every single day of the year. We'll also continue opening parks and playgrounds in every neighborhood, so that every New Yorker has no more than a 10-minute walk to enjoy them.
Source: State of the City speech
Jan 17, 2008
$2.5B trust fund for NYC future retirees' health care
Consider this: the federal government requires cities and states to set aside funding for future retirees' pensions--but not for future retirees' health care, even though we have just as much of an obligation to pay their health care costs as we do
their pensions. This makes no sense! So we've done something fairly unusual: we've set up a trust fund for future retiree health care costs, and we've dedicated $2.5 billion from our surplus to it. That's just basic fiscal responsibility.
Source: Speech at "Ceasefire! Bridging The Political Divide" meeting
Jun 18, 2007
Pay-for-prevention towards goal of universal coverage
Everyone talks about universal health insurance coverage--and that's an important goal. But it's not going to change the underlying reality of a health care system that is both too expensive and too ineffective.
That's why in NYC, not only have we dramatically increased health insurance coverage; we're moving toward a 'pay-for-prevention' system of health-care that rewards primary care doctors who succeed in keeping people out of hospitals.
A key step in doing this is providing prevention-oriented electronic health records to help doctors deliver better preventive care.
These records can also enable private insurers, as well as
Medicaid and Medicare, to hold doctors accountable for their patients' performance--and to pay more to the doctors who keep their patients healthy.
Source: Speech at "Ceasefire! Bridging The Political Divide" meeting
Jun 18, 2007
Prioritize city healthcare on HIV, diabetes & hypertension
Bloomberg is passionately interested in public health. He has donated millions of dollars to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Under Bloomberg, the city Health Department has made HIV, diabetes and hypertension priorities.
Bloomberg extended New York City's smoking ban to all commercial establishments, including bars and nightclubs. In Dec. 2006, New York became the first city in the US to ban trans-fat from all restaurants. It will go into effect in July of 2008.
Source: Wikipedia.org entry, "Michael_Bloomberg"
May 2, 2007
Banned trans fats in NYC restaurants
You don't normally turn to The N.Y. Times' Dining Out section for serious political commentary, but there it was recently, under the subhead, "How the Mayor Became The City's Most Powerful Foodie." As part of his campaign to protect constituents against
obesity and diabetes...
He banned trans fats in restaurants and required them to post the calorie count of their dishes.
In the school system, Bloomberg appointed an executive chef, and student lunches now run heavily to whole-wheat bread,
salad bars and sliced apples.
Day-care providers are required to give their charges fewer calories.
He launched an initiative to get mom-and-pop stores in low-income neighborhoods to sell healthier foods: 1% milk and more fruits and vegetables.
Libertarians might quarrel that what we eat is none of the government's business. But try this on for a Bloomberg political slogan: "Vote for me and I'll make you thinner and better-looking."
Source: Dale McFeatters on ScrippsNews, "The Food Candidate"
Apr 11, 2007
Smoking ban was a crusade of his mayoral administration
As mayor-elect, Bloomberg hired Dr. Thomas Frieden, whose highest priority was reducing cancer caused by cigarettes. Bloomberg didn't just hire
Frieden to be his health commissioner; he signed on for the first crusade of his first term. The Bloomberg administration [experienced an] uproar over the smoking ban.
Source: Chris Smith, New York Magazine
Oct 3, 2005
