'Competition Doesn't Work:' Shaheen Doubles Down On Medicare For All In NH01 Debate

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Democrat Stefany Shaheen doubled down on her support for a government-run, single-payer healthcare system during her debate with Republican Anthony DiLorenzo, flatly rejecting his proposal for more free-market competition.

“The fact is, competition in health care does not work,” Shaheen said.

The two NH-01 candidates faced off in their first general election debate Tuesday night, hosted by NHPR at Twin Barns Brewing in Meredith. DiLorenzo repeatedly hit Shaheen over her lack of accomplishments and reliance on her family name, while she linked the Republican businessman to President Donald Trump, who endorsed DiLorenzo in the GOP primary.

DiLorenzo framed the election as a choice between a political insider and someone with decades of private-sector experience.

“I represent the working class and the American dream,” DiLorenzo said. He contrasted that with the background of “Silver Spoon Shaheen,” as his ads describe her, benefiting from being the daughter of outgoing U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

“I have had numerous people come up to me and say if it was not for her last name, she would not be on the ballot,” DiLorenzo said.

Shaheen asked to respond, and pointed to her own business experience and service on the Portsmouth City Council and Police Commission.

“My opponent wants to make this race about my family name,” she said. “This race, our campaign, is about New Hampshire families, and he wants to continue to pretend I’m not qualified.”

But it was her work for Manchester-based ARMI, the nonprofit founded by inventor — and Jeffrey Epstein associate — Dean Kamen, that drew the most pointed questions about her resume. When Shaheen insisted that federal dollars did not pay for her work (“I was paid from a private foundation”), DiLorenzo balked.

“First of all, the company she worked for in Manchester derives 96% of their revenue from the federal government. So, when she says she does not get paid from government, that is not true,” he said.

Shaheen’s congressional financial disclosure identifies her work for ARMI as chief strategy officer. NHJournal previously reported that ARMI’s tax filings listed more than $921,000 in payments to her from 2018 through 2024.

And, DiLorenzo repeatedly points out, Shaheen’s mother championed her work, sending tens of millions of dollars in federal grants to her daughter’s employer.

Shaheen accused DiLorenzo of misrepresenting her work and emphasized that ARMI is a nonprofit. She said Republicans, including Gov. Kelly Ayotte and former Gov. Chris Sununu, as well as independents, supported the initiative.

But the biggest clash was over Shaheen’s support for Medicare for All.

Shaheen’s shift from refusing to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All policy to embracing it wholeheartedly was one of the most dramatic developments in the NH-01 race. As a result of her move to the left, progressives Carol Shea-Porter and Christian Urrutia both endorsed Shaheen in the waning days of her hotly-contested primary race against Maura Sullivan and Carleigh Beriont.

DiLorenzo said Shaheen’s plan would cost $30 trillion and would put the government in charge of Americans’ healthcare, a reference to multiple studies showing Medicare for All would require approximately $32 trillion to $34 trillion in additional federal spending over a decade.

“We do not need government-run health care,” DiLorenzo added. “You are bringing the DMV to health care: Long lines and lousy service.”

Shaheen defended Medicare for All policy, which would eliminate the private health insurance industry and replace it with a single government-run payer.

“Studies have shown that Medicare for All can save us up to $1 trillion,” Shaheen said.

As for competition and transparency, Shaheen insisted they won’t work “because there is not a way to incentivize competition when the insurance companies are losing money, because there are profit-driven motives. That is why they seek to exist. That is why they are doing the work they are doing. It is profit-driven.”

The same study that projects $1 trillion in overall savings from Medicare for All also projects $4.24 trillion annually in federal financing — about $2.1 trillion more than existing federal health spending. And that figure assumes the government-run system generates substantial reductions in medical costs.

“Health care should be a right, not a privilege for the wealthy,” Shaheen said.

Throughout the debate, Shaheen tied DiLorenzo to Trump.

“You cannot say you are going to ‘vote for Trump a thousand times in a row’ and that his policies have been effective and also say that you are fiscally responsible when this president is the largest spender in American history,” Shaheen said.

DiLorenzo answered that her criticism lacked context.

“She has misquoted me several times about me saying I would ‘vote a thousand times’ (for Trump). That was in reference to if the opponent was Kamala Harris.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.