MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Returning senate hopeful Scott Brown (R-N.H.) renewed his once-fervent call for repeal of the medical device tax, telling reporters during a tour of Gamma Medica that the levy is "just a money grab to fund Obamacare."
Brown this week toured imaging devices maker Gamma, where executives told him that the tax will prevent the company from hiring at least 2 new workers or investing in R&D this year. Brown, a former Massachusetts senator who announced his bid for New Hampshire earlier this month, called the tax "a job killer."
Brown is well-versed in the lingo of medtech tax opposition, having spent a lot of time stumping against the levy during his run in the senate. He put the issue front and center in his re-election campaign against opponent Elizabeth Warren, who won the seat in 2012.
During that campaign, Brown stormed through the Bay State’s medtech line-up, hitting 3 medical device makers in a single week to highlight his push to repeal tax. The message has been a winning strategy for him in the past, going back to his successful 2010 campaign for a senate seat long held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.
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