Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) has 228 co-sponsors for his bill to repeal the medical device tax in the House, but he’s missing several key members of the congressional caucus formed to support the medical device industry.
About 25 of the 66 members of the Medical Technology Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives have yet to sign on as co-sponsors on Paulsen’s H.R. 436: Protect Medical Innovations Act.
All but two of the caucus’ GOP members have co-sponsored the bill, along with a smattering of House Democrats. However, notable signatures missing include a key member of the House leadership, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), who as the House Majority Leader wields significant power in influencing which bills are brought before the House for a vote. Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) is the other GOP House member yet to sign onto the bill.
A spokeswoman for Cantor’s office told MassDevice that the absence of the majority leader’s signature on the measure shouldn’t be construed as support for the tax, which was included in the sweeping Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act of 2010 as a way to pay for health care reform.
She said the Virginia lawmaker is opposed to the medical device tax for the reason that it "hurts job creation, harms innovation and increases the cost of health care." She added that the GOP-led House voted to repeal the entire health care reform law back when Republicans took control of the House in 2011.
However, Cantor’s signature on the bill is highly unlikely given that, as a rule, he does not co-sponsor any legislation. However, his office said that he is "continuing to work with the bill’s sponsors regarding timing for consideration for the coming year."
The Medical Technology Caucus, formed in 1993, "does not endorse legislation or take positions on policy matters," according to its web site; it serves as a forum to discuss issues relating to medical technology.
Paulsen told MassDevice last week that he expects a vote on the bill this year, as his efforts have gained traction with congressional members from both parties.
"I actually expect that this is going to move forward in the House sometime this year, hopefully sooner than later," he told us. Based on the number of co-sponsors on the bill, a straight up-or-down vote for repeal would clearly pass in the GOP-controlled House. However, it’s unlikely that the bill would pass in the Senate.
One of the reasons the repeal bill has not come to a vote is because House Republicans still disagree over how to proceed.
"A lot of my colleagues, including leadership, felt that once we had a vote for repeal [of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act], that that was adequate, and some of the more conservative members of the House, didn’t want to pick and choose."
Still, Paulsen believes that his efforts have some momentum, even among some Democrats.
"There are some Democratic members who have not signed on to the repeal bill because they’re a little nervous about acknowledging that the health care law they may have voted for isn’t perfect," he said. "They’re more inclined to vote for it if they get the opportunity to vote on the floor, rather than sign their name on it and deal with a sort of push-back among some of their own base."
As for his own party’s leadership, Paulsen believes they’re getting the message.
"My leadership says it makes sense to vote on this separately," he said. "It’s one of these processes where all of a sudden we’re voting on something else because leadership has decided to push some other initiative through."