Why would that make you more conservative? Republicans don't have any answers to fix the US healthcare system. It would be far more plausible that someone that experienced the failure of the health care system would vote for a populist position here, and for healthcare the more convincing populist position is certainly the left one.

Many people in the US become more liberal as they become more jaded by the (for-profit) healthcare system.

How do you become jaded with something you do not have access to? Has universal healthcare ever been tried in the US?

That's misunderstanding the paper. The correlation here is with outcomes, not support. Republicans may very well be more "jaded" with the healthcare system. But that doesn't explain why they die early.

Isn't it just that they're in the Republican misinformation ecosystem?

This because extreme over COVID. A particular low point was Herman Cain's Twitter account doing COVID denial while, and after, the man died of COVID.

Through what mechanism does dissatisfaction with our for-profit healthcare system lead to support for eg. expansionist foreign wars or aggressive policing policies?

Of interest to that point:

The Unlucky Country: Life expectancy and health in regional and remote Australia (2023) - https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2023-0...

  Life expectancy in Far West NSW is almost six years lower than in Sydney, with the divide getting worse.
  Those in the Far West are twice as likely to die prematurely compared to those in Sydney, and ‘potentially avoidable’ deaths are two and a half times more likely.
  Suicide is twice as likely for residents in the Far West, with rates trending up.

* Sidesteps the US Dem V Rep preconceptions.

* Highlights Rural V. Urban resource differences.

* Similar Political division in that AU regional tends more conservative (by AU standards) than AU urban.

It's absolutely multi factor, but likely more strongly tied to health assets, funding, and reach of public messaging than to political leanings (although asset distribution, funding, and messaging policy are, of course, tied to politics).

It's well documented that healthcare providers in rural US are diminishing, and yet, they continue to vote for right wing candidates.

It is important to point out though, that the last opportunity to establish single-payer healthcare in the US was prevented by the democratic party.

The famous Hillary quote: "Single payer is off the table"

This is why the RNC has hated on the Clintons so much, and especially Hillary: they were muscling in on republican turf.