The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) urged lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to pass a permanent, full repeal of the medical device tax.
The excise tax was originally used as a method to help fund the Affordable Care Act in 2013. There was bipartisan support to a two-year tax suspension in 2015—which is ending this year.
“The medical device tax has been responsible for job losses and reductions in R&D budgets, which hurts U.S. economic growth and stifles innovation for patients,” said Joe Robinson, chairman of the MITA board of directors and senior vice president of health systems solutions at Philips Healthcare. “To ensure the tax does not resume for any period of time, our leaders in Congress must act now to fully repeal the tax and give manufacturers the certainty they need to invest in hiring and ongoing innovation in 2018.”
If not repealed or suspended by Congress, the tax will once again be effective Jan. 1.
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.