January 28, 2015 by Brad Perriello
AdvaMed claims that the medical device tax will wind up costing the U.S. economy 195,000 jobs, citing a survey of 55 of its medical device company members.
The national medical device industry lobby today claimed that the medical device tax enacted as part of Obamacare will wind up costing the U.S. economy 195,000 jobs and hamstring medtech firms’ R&D efforts.
AdvaMed updated its annual look at the impact of the 2.3% levy on U.S. sales of prescribed medical devices, which went into effect at the beginning of 2013. The report is based on a survey of 55 of the trade group’s members, representing 20% of its total roster.
“This survey on the effects of the tax after 2 years makes it clear that the passage of time has only added to the negative effects of this burdensome tax,” AdvaMed CEO Stephen Ubl said during a conference call with reporters today.
The job losses claimed in the report are based on a methodology that extrapolates an estimate of the total U.S. spend on medtech in 2011, which was assumed to equal medtech companies’ revenues.
