Mayor Bloomberg wades into Federal waters with an op-ed in today's Daily News. Key grafs:

The principles that President Obama has outlined for national health care reform are driven by a goal that I share: universal access to affordable health care. Last week, I went to Washington to speak with members of Congress about an idea that can help make that goal a reality: a public health insurance option.

Today, most Americans get their health coverage from private insurers. A public health insurance option would create a competitor to private insurers that could potentially drive down costs across the board. I support the concept of a public plan, because if it's done right, it means introducing exactly the kind of competition our system needs.

Snip, snip.

A public option would be particularly beneficial to areas where just a few insurance companies control most of the market. This is especially true of cities. According to the American Medical Association, 94% of metropolitan areas in the United States are dominated by one company or a small group of companies. This kind of anti-competitive concentration protects private insurers from ever having to feel the urgency to provide more for less. When you don't have to find ways to cut costs and produce a better product, you tend not to do it. The public option offers the opportunity to force the system to innovate, evolve and improve.

It's very Bloombergian to make this argument by pointing out cost and efficiency benefits. It's also worth thinking about the potential financial benefits to the City from a Federal solution to the healthcare crisis; a report from January by the Citizens Budget Commission attributes rising City personnel costs in part to the increasing cost of healthcare for the City's 280,000 employees.

Nice going, Mr. Mayor. It's appreciated.