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. Those include ensuring that North America is energy independent by 2020; giving citizens the job skills they need and allowing parents to choose where their children go to school; forging new trade agreements; cutting the deficit and balancing the federal budget; and promoting small businesses by reducing taxes, simplifying regulations, and reining in "the skyrocketing cost of healthcare by repealing and replacing Obamacare.”

But healthcare industry leaders looking for more details on Romney's plans for the nation's healthcare system—whether it be overhauling the country's healthcare entitlement programs to reduce the deficit, or other reforms—will have to wait for the debates, as the former Massachusetts governor's nearly hourlong speech barely touched on the topic that has stayed on par with jobs as a leading domestic policy issue in this campaign.

Before promising to overturn the Affordable Care Act, Romney had this to say about President Barack Obama and the law: “His $716 billion cut to Medicare to finance Obamacare will both hurt today's seniors and depress innovation and jobs in medicine,” which drew loud boos from the audience.

Romney's acceptance of his party's nomination concludes the three-day convention in Tampa, Fla. Democrats will have their turn starting next Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C., when they begin their process to nominate Obama as their candidate.

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