Hatch on New Medical Device Tax Regulations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, today blasted the Obama Administration after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a new regulation to implement the 2.3 percent excise tax imposed on medical device manufacturers under the President’s partisan health law.

“Job creators and consumers shouldn’t have to foot the bill to pay for the President’s partisan health spending law,” said Hatch. “Hitting medical device manufacturers – an innovative engine of our economy – with a job-killing $28.5 billion tax hike is exactly the wrong thing under a weak economy. This is a tax on innovation and job creation that will ultimately stifle the development of life-saving medical devices with costs that will be passed on to consumers. It’s time for this White House to get behind real pro-growth policies to get our economy moving again.”

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), medical devices ranging from surgical tools to bed pans will get hit with a 2.3 percent excise tax hike that will raise $28.5 billion in revenue over 10 years and ultimately hinder industry innovation, job creation and the overall delivery of quality patient care to fund the $2.6 trillion health law.

Earlier this week Congress’ nonpartisan budget score-keeper, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), estimated the nation’s unemployment rate will remain over 8 percent for at least three years - 8.8 percent in 2012,  9.1 percent in 2013 and remain over 8.7 percent in 2014. According to the Manhattan Institute, the 2.3 excise tax will result in a loss of 43,000 jobs nationwide. This Congress, Hatch introduced the Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act (S.17) to immediately repeal the tax, which is slated to take effect in 2013.

 
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