
Say hello to MassDevice +7, a bite-sized view of the top seven med-tech stories of the week. This latest feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our seven biggest and most influential stories from the week’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.
If you read nothing else this weekend, make sure you’re still in the know with MassDevice +7.
7. What the med-tech industry could learn from Don Draper

TV’s Don Draper, backbone of the hit series Mad Men, could teach the medical device industry a thing or 2 about managing a national conversation. The medical device industry needs to pay attention to what I’ll call Draper’s Golden Rule. To paraphrase, "if you don’t like what they’re saying about you, change the conversation."
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6. Returning to the market in the shadow of the medical device tax

Mela Sciences (NSDQ:MELA) CEO Joe Gulfo tells MassDevice that he feels like a kid in a candy store as he takes the company back to market – and not even the ever-looming burden of the medical device tax can dampen his enthusiasm.
5. Obama shuns fanfare on the 2-year anniversary of health care reform

President Barack Obama isn’t planning anything special to mark the anniversary of his signature health care reform bill, the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act, which he signed into law 2 years ago this month.
MassDevice 2-year anniversary special: March 23, 2010

ANALYSIS: Big players bear the brunt of medical device tax
President Barack Obama signed the landmark healthcare reform bill into law March 23, initiating a monumental series of changes to the way healthcare is delivered and paid for in the U.S. Not least among those changes, at least from the perspective of medical device makers, is the 2.3 percent excise tax on revenues contained in the law.
Unsurprisingly, the industry’s reaction to the tax ranged from dire predictions of mass layoffs to fears of its impact on medical technology innovation. A MassDevice poll showed that most of our readers despise the healthcare reform act, with 55 percent of the 130 respondents reporting "I hate this bill. I hate the idea," and only 32 percent saying "The bill isn’t perfect, but the spirit is right."
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4. Med-tech tax ranks among most likely to hurt seniors, tax-reform activist Norquist says

Conservative activist Grover Norquist counted the medical device tax as one of President Barack Obama’s top measures that will most hurt seniors. The top-line 2.3% levy, set to take effect January 1, 2013, made the list over concerns that the burden of the tax will be reflected in higher costs for medical products that seniors rely on.
3. Are there hidden costs in the medical device tax?

Jason Rager may have the best job security in the world right now. As the global tax director for Cook Medical, Rager is responsible for making sure the company is in compliance with the new medical device tax when it becomes law in January. It’s a tall order, to say the least.
2. New Hampshire’s Ayotte echoes call for repeal in Dem.-led Senate

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) reaffirmed her support for repealing the medical device levy during a tour of med-tech makers in the Granite state this week, calling for a elimination of the "onerous new excise tax" set to take effect in 2013.
1. Medical device tax: Companies may need up to 6 months to prepare

The 2.3% medical device excise tax appears simple, but tax experts are advising med-tech clients that implementing the levy will be more complex and time-consuming than most think. Zara Muradali, a managing director in the federal tax practice at multi-national accounting, tax and advisory firm KPMG, told MassDevice that she is advising her clients to have their ducks in a row by the end of the 3rd quarter in order to prepare for the impact of the tax.