PHOENIX — A Democratic candidate in a close race for the Arizona House of Representatives supported government-run Medicare for All during a town hall meeting for then-presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in 2019, according to an archived video clip.
“We have a system based on the free market, but there's a lot that's wrong with it,” Amish Shah said. event It was hosted in May 2019 by the Phoenix Democratic Socialists of America and the Progressive Democrats of America.
“No other developed or industrialized country provides health care through the free market because that's not really the system,” Shah asserted. “The solution to this problem is universal, single-payer Medicare for All across the country.”
If that were to happen, all private health insurance in the United States would be abolished.
When The Washington Post contacted Shah's campaign to ask if he still maintained that stance, the candidate deflected.
“As a physician with more than 20 years of experience in medicine, I know that there are pros and cons to any health care system. These are real human lives, and the patients and constituents I speak to are not happy with this issue being used as an opportunity for cynical political attacks,” Shah told The Post.
“What matters at the end of the day is that people have access to affordable health care,” Shah concluded.
Shah ran in the state's Democratic primary in July. Arizona Republic He still supports universal health care, but said payer options other than the “single payer” system he called for in 2019 should also be considered.
Shah won the 1st Congressional District primary on July 30 with 23.5% of the vote, beating out five other Democrats.
Shah, a former Arizona congressman, is running against Republican incumbent Rep. David Schweikert in a hotly contested race that the Cook Political Report rates as close, with Republicans holding a slight lead in its partisan voting index.
Republicans say the video intimately links Shah to Sanders.
“Amish Shah was caught red-handed endorsing Bernie Sanders for President at a Phoenix Socialist event. Arizonans will reject this Bernie Bro trying to impose his radical socialist agenda on them,” said Ben Petersen, spokesman for the Republican National Congressional Committee.
