MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Former Vice President Dick Cheney continued to publicly criticize the medtech tax while on tour for his new book, "Heart: An American Medical Odyssey."
Cheney told the hosts of "Fox & Friends" this week that the medtech tax hampers innovation in medical technologies, and that he has relied on the industry time and again to save his life.
"Putting a tax on medical devices will slow down that whole process of innovation that saved my life and the life of millions of others," Cheney said. "It’s all those innovations that didn’t exist when I had my first heart attack that have cut the incidents of death by over 50% in the country."
He went on to criticize the Obama Administration for its handling of new insurance plans, saying that the White House knew that patients opting for new Obamacare plans would not have their choice of doctors. Cheney criticized President Obama’s promise that patients can "keep their doctors," saying bluntly that the administration had lied to pass the healthcare reform bill.
"It was a lie. It was deliberate," Cheney said. "They knew if they told the truth, the bill would’ve never passed."
The former VP’s health issues have made him something of a poster child for medical technologies and heart disease treatment. He suffered the 1st of 5 heart attacks when he was 37, and has since had a heart transplant, quadratic bypass surgery and a combination pacemaker defibrillator.
He’s been making the rounds in the media in conjunction with the launch of his book, and the medical device tax has been a frequent topic. Earlier this month the former Vice President told the National Press Club in Washington that the medical device tax is “one of the dumbest ideas I’ve heard.”
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