Dr. Dean spoke to a packed house at a forum sponsored by HCFANY member organizations Rekindling Reform and Metro New York Health Care for All.

Dr. Dean, with his characteristic bluntness, said “If the Democratic Party doesn’t deliver universal health care this year, they don’t deserve to be in office.” His remarks focused on rallying support for a public plan, “all we’re asking is to give the American people a choice” between a public plan and whatever health care they have. He urged the audience to sign an on-line petition in support of the public plan option at Stand with Dr.Dean. More than 300,000 people have signed the petition which will be presented to DC policymakers at the HCAN! Rally on Thursday, June 25. Information about buses from NY is available here.

An independent analysis of the public plan was released today by the Commonwealth Fund. The report reviews three different scenarios and finds that the public option could provide cumulative health system savings within 20 years between $3 and $2 trillion. The third scenario, without a public option, would yield smaller savings totaling $1.2 trillion. Read the report here.

More on the event here.