The House of Representatives’ lead medtech tax repeal bill co-sponsors urged immediate action to strike what they called an "onerous policy that is harming the great American success story."
House Reps. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) and Ron Kind (D-Wisc.) called for immediate action in finding a viable way to replace the $30 billion the medical device tax is slated to generate over the next 10 years.
"The urgency is real, and it’s time to act," the pair said in an op-ed penned for the Minnesota Star Tribune. "The impact of the tax is already being felt through layoffs at device manufacturers around the country."
Opponents of the medical device tax continue to leverage the momentum gained when the Senate passed a non-binding measure to repeal the 2.3% medical device tax contained in the Affordable Care Act.
Paulsen and Kind called the vote "encouraging" and dubbed a signal of the widespread, bipartisan support in Congress for repealing the medtech tax.
"When 79 senators vote in support of repealing the medical-device tax as a part of the budget resolution, it is clear that Congress wants to put an end to this policy," they wrote.
More medical device tax coverage from MassDevice.com.
It’s not the first time Kind and Paulsen have
teamed up editorially to challenge the tax. Last month the duo submitted a piece to the Washington Post, criticizing the Post’s writer’s for an article that called the Senate’s recent non-binding vote to repeal the medical device tax a "budget-busting mistake."
"It is crucial that we enhance our strengths and export American ingenuity," Paulsen and Kind responded. "Repealing the medical-device tax will allow today’s entrepreneurs – whether working in a university lab or their bedrooms – to become tomorrow’s visionaries."