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Congressional legislation was introduced today looking to permanently repeal the medical device tax.
The Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2017, sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen (R.-Minn.) and Ron Kind (D-Wis.), seeks to repeal the 2.3% medical device excise tax that was enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act.
The tax, a levy on all U.S. sales of prescribed medical devices, was suspended for 2 years last December through another bill sponsored by Paulsen.
“One of the best ways to protect American manufacturing, spur innovation, and make sure the latest and best medical technology is affordable for patients is to repeal this burdensome tax. We are already seeing new American jobs and increased investment in research and development as a result of the temporary suspension of this tax,” Paulsen wrote in a statement, according to KSTP News.
Other details of the bill have not yet been released.
Medical device lobbying group AdvaMed praised the legislation, urging for a full repeal of the tax. The move was also applauded by the California Life Sciences Association, which represents California-based life science groups.
