Romney barely mentions health care in acceptance speech

The Republican presidential nominee doesn't offer details on his plans for Medicare or the health care law. Nonetheless, several outlets look at what's ahead on that topic from the GOP ticket.

Politico: In RNC speech, Mitt Romney Gives Passing Mentions To Health Care, Medicare
Mitt Romney's most significant political speech of the 2012 campaign made only a passing reference to two of the biggest issues in the entire election: Medicare and the future of President Barack Obama's health care law. In the whole speech, which lasted about 45 minutes, there were exactly two lines about health care. One was the same attack on Obama's Medicare cuts that Paul Ryan made last night. The other was the standard pledge to repeal "Obamacare" (Haberkorn, 8/30).

The Washington Post: Romney Draws Battle Lines In GOP Acceptance Speech
Romney's tenure as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 was highlighted, but although video clips included his record on fiscal issues, there was no mention of his signature accomplishment, the passage of a health-care law that became a model for Obama's plan (Balz, 8/30).

The Wall Street Journal: Romney Promises To 'Restore' U.S.
On a night that sought to show how his background prepared him for the reins of government and to reinvigorate the economy, Mr. Romney presented few policy details. While Mr. Romney has made his plans to cut tax rates a central argument in his campaign-;and has focused recently on making changes to Medicare-;he skimmed over both issues in his speech (McCain Nelson and Murray, 8/31).

Politico: Romney's Health Care Challenge: A Mandate For What?
Republicans at the national convention insist they'll have a mandate to reshape Medicare if their guys win the White House in November, but that doesn't mean Paul Ryan's ambitious reform plan will become law. In fact, the Republican ticket has been left plenty of wiggle room to dodge the proposal that made Ryan a hit with fiscal conservatives. Mitt Romney has been deliberately vague on the specifics. He's not coming anywhere close to the level of detail of Ryan's House budgets that outlined the plan. And that's by design (Haberkorn and Allen, 8/30).

Los Angeles Times: Rhetoric vs. Reality: Now Comes The Hard Part For Romney-Ryan
Throughout the week, Medicare loomed as the starkest example of the clash between the rhetoric that roused the party's truest believers and the cold political realities of waging a winning campaign. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the convention's rousing keynote speaker, told the crowd that Democrats mistakenly believe "the American people don't want to hear the truth about the extent of our fiscal difficulties." ... But Romney and Ryan did not run toward it in their nationally televised convention speeches. Rather than promote their plan -; which Democrats say would increase healthcare costs for the elderly -; Ryan attacked President Obama for cutting $716 billion in projected Medicare spending over the next decade (Finnegan, 8/31).

Modern Healthcare: Romney's Key Goals Include Repeal Of Healthcare Reform Law
GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney electrified the crowd at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Thursday when he vowed to repeal the 2010 healthcare law if he's elected president in November. That promise came when Romney laid out five goals that he and vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) plan to tackle if they win the White House this fall (Zigmond, 8/31). 

CNN (Video): Romney And Overturning Obamacare
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen explains Mitt Romney's proposed health care reforms.

Medpage Today: GOP Outlines Post-Election Health Care Plans
Mitt Romney will completely repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and start a bit-by-bit approach at his own reforms if he's elected president, his top health policy advisor said here this week. While some conservative policymakers agree there are reforms in the ACA worth keeping, a piecemeal approach is a better solution both legislatively and in implementation, Matt Hoffman, senior policy adviser for the Romney campaign, said at a healthcare town hall held at the Republican National Convention … Hoffman said Romney also supports allowing interstate shopping for insurance and caps on medical liability claims. The Romney campaign is also now championing the transformation of Medicare into a premium-support system, which congressman and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has proposed (Pittman, 8/30).