Dems, Republicans ramp up health reform rhetoric as SCOTUS speculation abounds

News organizations covered the Sunday talk shows, where party regulars are anticipating the Supreme Court's Affordable Care Act decision.

Politico: Romney: Mandates OK For States, Not Feds
In an interview aired Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," the presumptive GOP presidential nominee reiterated his pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act, though he allowed that a similar health care reform he signed as Massachusetts governor was legal. ... "if I'm president, we're going to stop Obamacare in its tracks and return to the 10th Amendment that allows states to care for these issues on the way they think best" (Epstein, 6/17).

The Associated Press: GOP On Health Care: Repeal Quickly, Replace Slowly
Congressional Republicans intend to seek quick repeal of any parts of the health care law that survive a widely anticipated Supreme Court ruling, but don't plan to push replacement measures until after the fall elections or perhaps 2013. Instead, GOP lawmakers cite recent announcements that some insurance companies will retain a few of the law's higher-profile provisions as evidence that quick legislative action is not essential. Those are steps that officials say Republicans quietly urged in private conversations with the industry. ... Among Republicans, aides to Speaker John Boehner, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and other key lawmakers have convened a series of meetings in recent weeks to plan a post-ruling strategy (Espo, 6/17).

National Journal: Both Parties Lack A Clear Path Forward On Health Care 
Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming and Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland faced off on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, offering party-line arguments in opposition to or defense of the law, which currently awaits a Supreme Court decision on its constitutionality. Their arguments were typical -- Barasso called the legislation "unconstitutional" and Van Hollen highlighted the widely popular provisions of the law, like an extension of parents' coverage to young adults -- but when asked what plan B was, if the Supreme Court throws out the law, neither offered a clear path forward (Jaffe, 6/17).

Roll Call: Barrasso: GOP Will Target Health Care Law in Wake of Court Ruling 
Van Hollen repeatedly asserted that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was the Democrats' plan and that Republicans have done nothing but promise to repeal any remaining provisions and leave nothing in its place if the law is invalidated. ... Barrasso was less clear about what his party might craft to take the law's place (Becker, 6/17).

Politico: Democrats In The Dark On Post-SCOTUS Planning
Congressional Democrats who wrote Barack Obama's health care plan into law say they're getting virtually no guidance from the White House on how to deal with the fallout if the Supreme Court overturns any part of the law. There have been no meetings, no phone calls and no paper exchanged with the administration, according to Democratic lawmakers and staff. The top aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, David Krone and John Lawrence, did meet with the White House's chief congressional lobbyist, Rob Nabors, last week to discuss a variety of issues. But Nabors didn't provide any information on how the president plans to approach the court's ruling (Allen and Raju, 6/15). 

The Washington Post: Fact Checker: Does Romney's Assessment Of The Economic Impact Of Obama's Health-Care Law Hold Up? 
Romney goes way too far when he adds private health-care expenditures to this total [of government spending] and claims that it shows the "reach" of government. [Daniel J. Mitchell of the Cato Institute] Mitchell -; no fan of the health-care law -; politely called the concept "novel." As he put it, "I agree that private health-care outlays are heavily influenced by government policy, but that was already the case before Obamacare. Yes, Obamacare will make it worse, but I don't think it is justifiable to count that 10.03 percent of GDP as private before Obamacare and government after Obamacare" (Kessler, 6/16).