MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) had some harsh words for the medical device tax and its role in helping pay for the Affordable Care Act, calling the levy little more than a thin attempt to conceal the deep costs of healthcare reform.
The tax is slated to raise about $30 billion over the course of 10 years through a 2.3% tax on U.S. sales of medical devices, a cost that Hatch said the medtech industry can hardly bear.
Hatch, who has been instrumental in previous efforts to repeal the tax, said that Congressional Democrats created the tax "so they can make the phony claim that Obamacare is self-sufficient," according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
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