Including language repealing the medical device tax in an upcoming reconciliation bill is reportedly the Advanced Medical Technology Assn.’s #1 priority, even as Republicans on Capitol Hill disagree on repealing Obamacare-related taxes ahead of repealing the entire Affordable Care Act.
A 2-year moratorium on the 2.3% levy on U.S. medical device sales is slated to expire at the end of this year. Last month, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) co-sponsored a bill that would amend the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the medical device tax; a similar move is afoot in the House.
Hatch, who’s championed several bills over the years that would have repealed the tax, is leading the charge to get repeal language for all Obamacare taxes into the initial reconciliation bill, according to Inside Health Policy.
That puts Finance Committee chairman Hatch at loggerheads with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Health Committee, who’s worried that cutting the ACA taxes before repealing it altogether would also mean cutting funds that could be used to replace it, the website reported.
JC Scott, chief advocacy officer & head of external affairs at AdvaMed, said the group is still confident that a repeal is in the offing, despite the GOP infighting.
“There are so many different perspectives right now on the ACA taxes and reconciliation, it’s easy to understand how different, and often conflicting, conclusions are drawn. Conversations seem to be ongoing on how to approach the ACA taxes, and we continue to hear broad support for repeal of the medical device tax. No one thinks it is good policy, so now it’s just a matter of how they get it done,” Scott told IHP via email.
