Lawmakers Renew Battle Against Device Tax
Despite being frustrated in their efforts last year, some members of both the House and Senate have renewed their push to repeal the unpopular 2.3% excise tax on medical devices with two new pieces of legislation
In the House, Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-MN, an outspoken critic of the tax, has joined forces with Rep. Ron Kind, D-WI, by introducing H.R. 523, the Protect Medical Innovation Act. The bill has 185 cosponsors as of Feb. 13, and enjoys bipartisan support.
Paulsen, who has blasted the Senate for not acting to repeal the tax, maintains the tax has already forced companies to lay off thousands of employees. “It’s not only costing our country jobs and deterring innovation, but more importantly, it will reduce patient access to cutting edge medical products and treatments that save lives,” he says in a prepared statement.
A number of medtech companies have said they’ve begun layoffs as a result of the tax, which applies to the sale of certain products by the manufacturer, producer, or importer of the device.
Meanwhile, critics of the tax on the Senate side have revitalized their efforts, with Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, and Amy Klobuchar, D-MN, introducing S. 232, the Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act. That bill also has bipartisan support, with Sens. Al Franken, D-MN, and Kelly Ayotte, R-NH—among others—signing on as backers.
Medical device groups were swift to praise the lawmakers’ efforts. “Repealing the device tax is our top priority and is critical to job creation and continued medical progress in the medical technology sector. “The momentum for repeal is growing,” Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), says in a statement. “The number of co-sponsors and the strong bipartisan support for repeal underscores the importance of this issue to companies large and small who are already living with the real-world harmful impact this tax is having.”
AdvaMed has teamed with the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association in advocating for the tax’s repeal. The trio has said that device makers already have made an initial semimonthly payment of approximately $97 million to the IRS—money that could have been used for research and job growth, according to a prepared statement.
Posted: February 13, 2013