‘ Any moving vehicle ’ : Medtech seeks a path for medical device tax repeal as Trumpcare dies

The likely demise of Republican plans to repeal Obamacare and replace it with their own version of healthcare reform has the medtech industry casting about for another way to get a repeal of the medical device tax into law. The U.S. House and Senate version of the Trumpcare legislation would have, among other things, done away with the 2.3% levy imposed on U.S. medical device sales by the Affordable Care Act in 2013. During the three years it was in effect (a two-year moratorium went into effect at the beginning of last year), the tax brought in $5.3 billion, well short of the $8.7 billion it was expected to bring in to IRS coffers. Repealing the tax is predicted to cut nearly $20 billion in revenues from the federal budget from 2018 to 2026. And although Republican leaders and the White House are pushing for a procedural vote on Trumpcare as early as tomorrow, it’s unclear whether majority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) can muster enough support for a win – or even what the vote would be about. That has the medtech industry mulling alternatives for repealing the tax, including upcoming bills on the FDA user fee deal, reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program, an omnibus budget bill next year or an expected bid to reform the tax code. “I’m frustrated,” AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “The medtech industry is frustrated, because if Congress doesn’t do something, a tax increase is loomin...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Healthcare Reform Wall Street Beat Capitol Hill medicaldevicetax Source Type: news