Health law continues to be challenge for Romney campaign

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney continues to confront issues about the similarities between the health reform he signed while Massachusetts governor and the 2010 federal health law. Meanwhile, The Associated Press reports about some of Romney's potential running mates and key issues in the campaign.

The Associated Press: Mitt Romney Faces Summer Of Hurdles, Opportunities
[Health care is] the last thing Romney wants to talk about. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that the key part of Obama's health care law -; the requirement that all in the U.S. carry health insurance -; is constitutional under the power Congress has to levy taxes. Romney enacted a similar mandate in Massachusetts when he was governor, calling the requirement a penalty instead of a tax (Hunt, 7/16).

The Associated Press: Gov. Jindal Rehabs Image By Focusing On Louisiana
Backers who want [Gov. Bobby Jindal] on the GOP ticket ... note his assets. They say his health care background and knowledge as a former state and federal health official would be increasingly valuable as Republicans focus on repealing Obama's health care law that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court (Deslatte, 7/16).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: For McDonnell, Va Govs' Meeting Provides A Final VP Audition For Romney As Decision Time Nears
Gov. Bob McDonnell had one last turn on the national stage as host of the weekend midsummer retreat of U.S. governors as a potential vice presidential running mate for Republican Mitt Romney. Then President Barack Obama upstaged him. For nearly a year, McDonnell's National Governors Association host team raised $1 million in private cash and organized a detailed itinerary of high-profile panels. The bipartisan gathering with national press attention gave McDonnell and other Republican governors the perfect opportunity to score points for Romney and flay Obama on health reform, a torpid economy, and mounting federal debt without looking shrill or partisan (7/15).

The Associated Press: Is It Just The Economy? Other Issues May Play Role
Analysts from both parties have no doubt that absent a defining, unpredictable moment, the race will remain neck and neck until November. That, several strategists say, means secondary issues such as health care, immigration, education, even little mentioned social issues such as abortion, guns or gay rights could make a difference when targeted to the right audiences. Under those conditions, the advantage, these strategists say, rests with Obama (Kuhnhenn, 7/14).

Politico: Poll: Affordable Care Act Bad For Business
Most Americans think President Barack Obama's health care reform law will harm taxpayers and businesses, while helping those directly threatened by a lack of health care, according to a Gallup Poll released Monday. Sixty percent believe the law will make things worse for taxpayers, 57 percent think it will do so for businesses, 51 percent think it will do so for doctors and 46 percent think people with health insurance will be worse off (Robillard, 7/16).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.