Boston Scientific, Medtronic and Stryker among coalition members urging repeal of device tax

AdvaMed published a letter this week urging Congress to repeal the 2.3% medical device tax. The letter was signed by more than 140 industry stakeholders, including device companies Boston Scientific, Edwards, Medtronic, Stryker and Zimmer Biomet as well as patient, physician, research and community groups. The letter states that the tax would curtail investment in medical device development, suppress innovation and cost industry jobs, noting that it would be particularly burdensome for small companies, since the tax is levied on revenues and not profits.

The device tax was originally passed to help fund the Affordable Care Act and went into effect for two years between 2016 and 2018 before a moratorium was issued to halt it. That moratorium will expire on December 31, 2019, and the current lame-duck Congress is perceived to be major opportunity for the tax to be repealed permanently. Industry is hopeful the tax will be repealed by the end of the year.

The full text of the letter is available here.