Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for President, said the Supreme Court's health care ruling highlights why it's important to defeat President Obama in November.
Romney vowed that if he's elected, he would replace the national health care law with legislation that would allow patients to keep their doctors and ensure coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Both of those provisions are contained in the existing law.
He did not mention the individual mandate, which is similar to one in a Massachusetts law that he signed while he was governor.
"If we want to replace Obamacare, we need to replace Obama," Romney said in a short statement before TV cameras.
The USA Today report says the Romney’s message echoes what Republicans have been saying ever since the high court upheld the individual mandate in the health care law: It's up to the voter's now.
"Just elect Romney. We need #FullRepeal," tweeted Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
Outgoing U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, said in a statement that the President’s health care law "is wreaking havoc on our economy."
"In fact, I have already heard from small business owners in northern Illinois who will either lay off workers or forgo new hires in order to stay below the 50-employee threshold that would require them to purchase costly insurance for their employees. “Americans are rightfully concerned that their employer-provided health insurance is threatened with this new law, and they don’t want it. I will join with our leaders in the House and support full repeal of the President’s health care law and instead pursue reforms that will truly make health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans without destroying our economy and stifling job creation in America.”
Illinois State Sen. Daye Syverson, R-Rockford, posted his reaction on his Facebook page:
“Disappointed with the Court. At least they correctly called it a national tax. Federal control of your healthcare will now result is more government, higher taxes, skyrocketing private insurance costs, and rationing of care. “You have one chance in November to stop this first move to a Canadian style national health plan.”
State Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Belvidere/Rockford, also posted his disappointment on Facebook.
"I'm disappointed by the Supreme Court decision today to penalize the American people through the individual mandate. This further expands government's role in the daily lives of Americans in a way that will be just as inefficient as other government programs," he said. "The only positive part of the ruling appears to be that the federal government cannot penalize states for not expanding its Medicaid roles by withholding existing funds. It is now important to seek to repeal the entire law through the legislative process."
"Obamacare will lead to the implosion of our health care system, an explosion of our national debt and economic uncertainty for millions of job creators," Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said.
"It will drive up health care costs and put yet another financial burden on our already struggling small businesses," said State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, co-chairman of a legislative study on formation of the state health insurance exchange as part of Illinois' implementation of the law.
The GOP's Priebus issued a statement decrying the decision in favor of the “budget-busting government takeover of health care…”
“Today’s Supreme Court decision sets the stakes for the November election” the statement said. “Now, the only way to save the country from ObamaCare’s budget-busting government takeover of health care is to elect a new president,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “Under President Obama’s signature legislation, health care costs continue to skyrocket, and up to 20 million Americans could lose their employer-based coverage. A panel of unelected bureaucrats now has the unprecedented authority to come between elderly patients and their doctors. Meanwhile, the rules and regulations placed on job creators and small businesses make it nearly impossible to hire new workers at a time when Americans desperately need jobs. “We need market-based solutions that give patients more choice, not less. The answer to rising health care costs is not, and will never be, Big Government. “We must elect a president who understands the economy, respects free enterprise, and can provide the leadership we now so desperately need. On Election Day, we must elect Mitt Romney and put America on the path toward a brighter economic future and successful health care reform.”