Veterans are strongly opposed to privatizing their health care, believing health care "was a promise made for their service," a new poll shows.
The Vet Voice Foundation survey of 800 veterans shows 64 percent are against plans to replace VA health care with a voucher system, an idea backed by some Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates,
including Jeb Bush.
The survey finds 29 percent favor privatization of hospital program and services.
Military Times reports the two polling firms conducting the survey included one GOP-backed company and one that was Democratic-leaning.
"Veterans overwhelmingly feel that health care was a promise made for their service and oppose vouchers that may not cover all costs," Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting said in a statement.
"Veterans worry that private insurance companies care too much about profit and would make decisions for the care of veterans based on money."
The issue is looming large over the 2016 White House race, with poll results showing 57 percent of veterans saying they'd be less likely to vote for candidates who support privatizing VA health care. The opposition extends across parties, according to the survey, with 67 percent of Democrats and 53 percent of Republicans saying they'd be less likely to vote for someone if they supported privatization.
The poll's margin of error is 3.5 percent.
"This poll confirms what nearly every veterans service organization has always said — privatization and voucherization of the VA is a nonstarter for veterans," retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, managing director of the Vet Voice Foundation, tells Military Times.
"There is a lot of debate about 'choice' in veterans care, but when presented with the details of what 'choice' means, veterans reject it," Eaton said. "They overwhelmingly believe that the private system will not give them the quality of care they and veterans like them deserve."
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