Worry Over Medical-Device Tax Growing

There is a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as “Obamacare,” that is not well-known to much of the general public, but is strangling the attention of medical device makers across the country.

On Jan. 1, 2013, a 2.3% tax increase will take effect on the manufacturing and importing of medical devices on range of products.

Congress passed the tax in 2010 to offset some of the cost of Obamacare, but now many in the medical device industry are calling on Congress to repeal the law, saying it will have a negative impact on the industry.

According to an article by David Lucchino, co-founder of Semprus BioSciences, manufacturers will pay an additional $3 billion in taxes, reducing funds for research and development, and potentially cutting 45,000 jobs within the industry.

For the sake of full disclosure, Lucchino is on the board of directors for the Advanced Medical Technology Association, “which spearheaded the move to repeal the medical tax,” but a number of industry leaders agree with him.

About 50 executives in the medical device industry met with members of Congress and aides a few weeks ago, pushing to repeal the tax, and more than 800 companies and medical groups sent a letter to the Senate demanding the repeal, according to Fox Business News.

Last summer, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the tax, but the repeal has stalled in the Senate. The Obama administration says it would veto the repeal anyway, arguing the industry will get more sales once the healthcare reform law takes effect.