Medical Device Tax
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
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What do pacemakers, insulin pumps, dentures and thousands of other life-saving devices all have in common? They all became more expensive because of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
Under Obamacare, medical device manufacturers are hit with a 2.3 percent tax. This threatens quality care, kills jobs and stifles innovation. That’s why I was proud to co-sponsor and join my colleagues in the House of Representatives in voting for legislation that repeals this damaging provision last week.
Innovative quality care will be threatened.
Innovative, life-saving technologies that millions of Americans depend on should be accessible and affordable. The medical device tax forces manufacturers to raise their prices, which burdens patients with higher costs to purchase these devices. The president promised Americans lower costs and more access to healthcare, and this tax widens the gap between those who can pay for quality care and those who cannot.
Manufacturers will be forced to lay off workers across the country.
According to the Hudson Institute, the “tax could result in job losses in excess of 43,000 and employment compensation losses in excess of $3.5 billion.” Additional slowing in industry growth would push firms to forgo hiring nearly 19,000 workers directly and could result in suppliers and other support firms not hiring 132,000 new employees.
Instead of cutting jobs, we should be removing barriers to innovation to grow our economy and in turn – create more jobs.
International competitiveness would suffer.
The United States – Indiana in particular – is the world’s leader in medical innovation, but taxing medical devices limits discovery and research into new technologies. A recent survey conducted by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) showed that this tax caused 53 percent of respondents to reduce the type research and development that keeps American firms on the cutting edge.
An overlooked but just as damaging aspect of this tax is that it applies to revenue, not profit. That means that even if a company isn’t making money, it still has to pay the tax. This can negatively affect startups, which can struggle for years to turn a profit, and potentially discourage someone with an idea for a new product from pursuing it.
The tax is hazardous to America’s health.
Failing to repeal the medical device tax would destroy jobs, drain the innovative spirit of American manufacturing, lower the quality of health care by restrict patients with less access to new technology.
I am glad that the House voted to repeal this tax and hope the Senate will do the same. After all, President Obama has indicated that he is open to signing the bill.
The last thing we need is less progress to improve on pacemakers, MRI machines and other life-improving devices. I remain fully committed to restoring innovation and patient-centered care in America. Repealing this devastating tax is one step closer to doing just that.
Jackie Walorski
Second District U.S. Rep.
via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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What do pacemakers, insulin pumps, dentures and thousands of other life-saving devices all have in common? They all became more expensive because of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
Under Obamacare, medical device manufacturers are hit with a 2.3 percent tax. This threatens quality care, kills jobs and stifles innovation. That’s why I was proud to co-sponsor and join my colleagues in the House of Representatives in voting for legislation that repeals this damaging provision last week.
Innovative quality care will be threatened.
Innovative, life-saving technologies that millions of Americans depend on should be accessible and affordable. The medical device tax forces manufacturers to raise their prices, which burdens patients with higher costs to purchase these devices. The president promised Americans lower costs and more access to healthcare, and this tax widens the gap between those who can pay for quality care and those who cannot.
Manufacturers will be forced to lay off workers across the country.
According to the Hudson Institute, the “tax could result in job losses in excess of 43,000 and employment compensation losses in excess of $3.5 billion.” Additional slowing in industry growth would push firms to forgo hiring nearly 19,000 workers directly and could result in suppliers and other support firms not hiring 132,000 new employees.
Instead of cutting jobs, we should be removing barriers to innovation to grow our economy and in turn – create more jobs.
International competitiveness would suffer.
The United States – Indiana in particular – is the world’s leader in medical innovation, but taxing medical devices limits discovery and research into new technologies. A recent survey conducted by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) showed that this tax caused 53 percent of respondents to reduce the type research and development that keeps American firms on the cutting edge.
An overlooked but just as damaging aspect of this tax is that it applies to revenue, not profit. That means that even if a company isn’t making money, it still has to pay the tax. This can negatively affect startups, which can struggle for years to turn a profit, and potentially discourage someone with an idea for a new product from pursuing it.
The tax is hazardous to America’s health.
Failing to repeal the medical device tax would destroy jobs, drain the innovative spirit of American manufacturing, lower the quality of health care by restrict patients with less access to new technology.
I am glad that the House voted to repeal this tax and hope the Senate will do the same. After all, President Obama has indicated that he is open to signing the bill.
The last thing we need is less progress to improve on pacemakers, MRI machines and other life-improving devices. I remain fully committed to restoring innovation and patient-centered care in America. Repealing this devastating tax is one step closer to doing just that.
Jackie Walorski
Second District U.S. Rep.
via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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