House Passes Bill to Repeal 2.3% Medical Device Tax
The House late Tuesday voted 283 to 132 to fully repeal a 2.3% tax on medical devices that was part of the Affordable Care Act and previously delayed.The bill, featuring 279 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, follows similar bipartisan efforts to fully repeal the tax from 2017 and earlier in the Senate and the House.
Tuesday’s House passage tees up another vote in the Senate, where according to CQ’s Rebecca Adams, just two Democrats need to support the repeal to win passage.
Scott Whitaker, CEO of medical device trade group AdvaMed, said in a statement: “We commend Rep. Erik Paulsen (R- Minn.) and a number of leaders from both sides of the aisle for their commitment to permanently repealing this onerous tax and for working to ensure our member companies have the long-term certainty they need to invest in R&D, hiring and other capital improvements to create the next-generation of treatments and cures.”
But Rep. Betty McCollum (DFL-MN), who voted against the repeal in the House, said in a statement: “Repealing the medical device tax without a fiscal offset only intensifies the Republican sabotage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).”