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Friday, February 8, 2013

Lawmakers Introduce Device Tax Repeal Bills. Again.

by Nathaniel Weixel

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Maybe the second time’s the charm? Bipartisan groups of House and Senate lawmakers have introduced companion bills to repeal an ACA-required 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices. A repeal bill was also introduced during the previous Congress last June, but faltered after passing the House when the Senate refused to take action on it. The tax is a key funding mechanism for other parts of the Affordable Care Act, and is expected bring in $30 billion over several years.

The tax took effect Jan. 1, and the devices industry has been predictably unhappy about it, saying it will harm device innovation. They say it’s not their responsibility to find another pay-for, but want Congress to find the money elsewhere. For their part, lawmakers have said they are more confident on passing a repeal bill this time around because of the bipartisan nature of both the House and Senate bills as well as the sheer number of co-sponsors. The House version has 175 co-sponsors attached, and the Senate version is still attracting them.
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