Arizona Democrat backed universal single-payer health care in resurfaced clip

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PHOENIX — The Democratic nominee in a close Arizona House race backed government-run universal health care during a 2019 town hall for then-presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, an archived video clip reveals.

“We have a system that is based on the free market, and there’s a lot of things that are wrong with that,” Amish Shah said at an event the Phoenix Democratic Socialists of America and the Progressive Democrats of America hosted in May 2019.

“No other industrialized country or first-world country offers health care through a free market because it’s not really a system,” Shah declared. To “take the problem and fix it, we need universal, single-payer Medicare for All throughout this country.”

That would eliminate all private health insurance in America.

Republican Rep. David Schweikert is Shah’s opponent in a competitive re-election race in Arizona. Barcroft Media via Getty Images

When The Post reached out to Shah’s campaign to see if he still holds that stance, the candidate deflected.

“As a physician who has been practicing medicine for over 20 years, I know that there are advantages and disadvantages to every healthcare system. These are real people’s lives, and the patients and voters I have spoken to do not appreciate the use of this topic as an opportunity for cynical political attacks,” Shah told The Post.

“Ultimately what matters is that people have access to affordable healthcare,” Shah concluded.

Competing in the state’s Democratic primary in July, Shah told the Arizona Republic that while he still backs universal health care, payer options other than just the “single payer” he touted in 2019 should be on the table.

Shah won the July 30 1st Congressional District primary with 23.5% of the vote, beating out five other Democrats.

Shah, a former Arizona state rep, is running against incumbent Republican Rep. David Schweikert for the highly competitive seat. Cook Political Report ranks the race a toss-up, with a slight edge for the GOP — R+2 — in its Partisan Voting Index.

Republicans say the clip closely ties Shah to Sanders.

“Amish Shah has been caught red-handed endorsing Bernie Sanders for president at a Phoenix Socialists event. Arizonans will reject this Bernie Bro hellbent on imposing his radical socialist agenda on them,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ben Petersen.

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