Bipartisan House Bill Seeks to Repeal Medical Device Tax

Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) and a group of more than 220 bipartisan representatives on Tuesday introduced a bill that would permanently repeal the 2.3% tax on medical device companies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

While the ACA is likely to be repealed and possibly replaced in full by the 115th Congress, this bill (HR 184) would make permanent a delay that kept the tax from taking effect through next year. President-elect Donald Trump also has said he supports the full repeal of the tax.

Paulsen said in a statment: "We are already seeing new American jobs and increased investment in research and development as a result of the temporary suspension of this tax. With over 200 cosponsors at the start of this new session, and with overwhelming bipartisan support in the past, permanent repeal should be a top priority for Congress."

A Senate report from 2015 also noted that that the tax negatively impacts the domestic medical device industry, disproportionately affects small businesses and is applied unfairly, as exported devices are exempted from the tax.

Support for Tax Repeal

Commenting on the introduction of Paulsen’s bill, Scott Whitaker, president and CEO of the device industry group known as the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), called the bill “a key milestone in finally repealing this onerous tax once and for all. As one of the first bills to be introduced in the House in the new session, this sends a strong signal that repeal is a high priority for the incoming Congress.”

Similarly, the California Life Sciences Association’s president, Sarah Radcliffe, Joe Robinson, chairman of MITA's board of directors and senior vice president of health systems solutions at Philips Healthcare and Paul LaViolette, executive chairman of CardioFocus and chairman of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, applauded the bill’s introduction.