Nation’s Business Groups Call for Full Repeal of Medical Device Tax

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of major U.S. business groups is calling on Congress to repeal the medical device excise tax before it comes back into effect at the end of this year, triggering a $20 billion tax increase on the medical technology industry. 

“America’s business leaders have the right idea when it comes to what’s best for American patients, jobs, and health-care innovation. We appreciate their unified voice in calling for repeal of the device tax,” said Scott Whitaker, President and CEO of AdvaMed. “Every day our industry is creating life-changing innovations that save and improve lives, which means good-paying jobs in communities throughout the country. We can’t allow this progress to be threatened with the return of this onerous tax. There is overwhelming bipartisan support to repeal it – we just need Congress to act.” 

In a joint letter to Congress, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, and the National Association of Manufacturers urged lawmakers to “fully repeal” the device tax along with other health care-related taxes before adjourning for the year. The business groups declared that reinstatement of the device tax “would undermine America’s global leadership in product innovation, clinical research, and patient care.” They also cited the 29,000 industry jobs lost when the tax was in effect from 2013-2015 and the estimated 53,000 jobs that would be preserved or gained from repeal. 

In calling for full repeal, the groups note such action “would provide critical long-term relief to the medical technology industry and would spur the innovation necessary to find next generation treatments that Americans deserve.”