The FDA and the medical device industry reportedly collaborated on drafting the 21st Century Cures Act before its passage in the U.S. House last summer, drawing criticism from consumer watchdogs and FDA experts. The 21st Century Cures Act, as approved on a 344-77 House vote in July, would speed new medical devices and drugs to the market […]
Capitol Hill
Obama signs medical device tax pause into law
President Barack Obama last week signed into law an omnibus tax and spending bill that pauses the medical device tax for 2 years, hours after the U.S. Senate approved the $1.8 trillion measure on a 65-33 vote. The 2-year pause on the medical device tax, a 2.3% levy on all U.S. sales of medical devices, is estimated to cost […]
UPDATE: Senate sends medical device tax pause to Obama
UPDATED Dec. 18, 2015, with news of Senate approval. The U.S. Senate today approved a $1.8 trillion spending and tax package, including a 2-year moratorium on the medical device tax. The Senate voted 65-33 to approve the omnibus bill and its pause on the 2.3% levy on U.S. sales of medical devices. The measure would also […]
Funding pact includes pause for medical device tax
The $1.6 trillion deal struck last night on Capitol Hill to fund the government includes a provision that would put a 2-year pause on Obamacare’s medical device tax. The agreement, revealed by U.S. House leader Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) during a conference call last night with Republican leaders, delays the 2.3% revenue tax on U.S. […]
Report: Congress on the cusp of freezing medical device tax
The U.S. Congress is reportedly on the cusp of agreeing on a 2-year freeze of the medical device tax and another tax enacted as part of Obamacare. The freeze is part of a 10-year, $500 billion tax package that would pause the 2.3% levy on U.S. sales of prescribed medical devices, as well as the so-called […]
Senate votes to repeal medical device tax
The U.S. Senate yesterday passed a bill that would gut key provisions of the Affordable Care Act and do away with the medical device tax, but the measure faces certain death as soon as it hits President Barack Obama’s desk. The upper chamber voted 52-47 to pass the bill, with 2 Republicans crossing the aisle to […]
Frosh reps push Ryan on medical device tax repeal
A bipartisan clutch of freshman representatives yesterday asked Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the newly minted House Speaker, to schedule a vote on repealing the medical device tax by the end of the year. The 2.3% excise tax on U.S. medical device sales went into effect in 2013 as part of Obamacare. The “Protect Medical Innovation Act of […]
Possible Pfizer-Allergan tie-up sparks fresh tax inversion angst on Capitol Hill
(Reuters) — Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) faces political risks in Washington if it proceeds with a bid for Allergan (NYSE: AGN), but with little chance of legislation to curb such tax inversion deals, the Obama administration may be able to throw up only limited obstacles. Lawmakers are widely seen as unlikely to tackle major tax code changes before […]
House votes – again – to repeal medical device tax
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act, including a provision that would repeal the medical device tax enacted as part of Obamacare. The legislation included the Protect Medical Innovation Act which eliminates the 2.3% excise tax on the sale of medical devices. The 2.3% levy on U.S. sales […]
UPDATE: Indiana’s Donnelly pushes bipartisan ‘medical innovation agenda’
UPDATED Oct. 22, 2015, with details on additional legislation. Indiana’s junior senator, Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), yesterday launched a “medical innovation agenda” by co-sponsoring a pair of bills and signing on to 3 others that aim to streamline the FDA’s approval process. Donnelly and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) co-sponsored a pair of new bills, the Rare Device Innovation Act and […]
Report: Senate to take up medical device tax repeal this year
The U.S. Senate will reportedly take up a bill to repeal the medical device tax before the end of the year, following a U.S. House vote earlier this year to do away with the 2.3% excise tax enacted as part of Obamacare. The Senate’s repeal bid, sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), is S. 149 or […]