September 16, 2014 by Brad Perriello
Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) tells MassDevice.com about his latest run at repealing the medical device tax, which the U.S. House is slated to take up as part of a larger package of jobs bills this week.
UPDATED Sept. 16, 2014, with comment from AdvaMed CEO Stephen Ubl.
The U.S. House of Representatives is slated to take up a package of already-passed jobs bills this week, including a provision sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) that would repeal the medical device tax.
MassDevice.com spoke with Paulsen today about the upcoming vote and why now might be the most propitious moment for repealing the tax, a 2.3% excise levy on U.S. sales of prescribed medical devices that was enacted along with the Affordable Care Act in 2010.
Estimates of the impact of the medical device tax have varied wildly since its inception in 2009, and 4 years of political deadlock, which included a federal government shutdown over the issue, have done little to add clarity. Federal government officials have projected that the tax will raise about$30 billion over 10 years. Back in July 2013 a report released by a coalition of medical device lobbying groups estimated that the tax had cost the industry $1 billion during the 1st 6 months of that year.
