Article preview from "The Gray Sheet"- June 11, 2012
Killing the 2.3% excise tax on U.S. device sales before it takes effect in January would be a major victory for the industry, but with opposition from the Senate and White House, achieving repeal remains a steep climb at best.
Article preview from "The Gray Sheet"- June 11, 2012
The U.S. House passed a bill to repeal the impending medical device excise tax June 7 over the threat of a veto from the White House.
The Health Care Cost Reduction Act was approved 270-146, with unanimous support from Republicans, plus 37 Democrats.
Killing the 2.3% excise tax on many U.S. device sales before it takes effect in January would be a major victory for the industry, which warns that the tax will lead to job losses, price increases and research and development cutbacks. But with the opposition from President Obama and reluctance in the Senate to proceed on a measure removing a provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, legislatively achieving repeal this year remains a steep climb at best.
Nonetheless, industry lobbyists say they remain optimistic. The House passage is an “action-forcing event for the Senate,” said Steve Ubl, CEO of AdvaMed. This is especially true, he suggested, because the tax “is becoming a central campaign issue in several Senate races around the country, notably in Massachusetts and Indiana.”
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