Romney Campaign Press Release - President Obama's Medical Device Tax Is harming American Job Creators

"I am encouraged that the House has done the right thing and voted to repeal the medical device tax. With unemployment stuck over 8 percent for 40 months, we can't afford policies that kill jobs and stifle innovation in one of America's most dynamic industries. The ill-considered medical device tax is only one of many fatal flaws in Obamacare. As president, I will work from my first day in office to dismantle Barack Obama's federal health-care takeover and replace it with real reform that strengthens our health care system and puts patients first." –Mitt Romney

Today, The House Of Representatives Repealed The Medical Device Tax – An Obamacare Policy That Harms American Job Creators:

This Afternoon, The House Of Representatives Voted To Repeal The 2.3% Tax In Obamacare That Will Be Imposed On Medical Device Makers. "Shrugging off a veto threat, Republicans are ready to push legislation through the House repealing a tax on the producers of many medical devices sold in the United States. GOP leaders scheduled a vote for Thursday, and with more than half the House sponsoring the measure its passage was ensured. Equally certain is its death in the Senate, where top Democrats say they won't even bring it up." (Alan Fram, "GOP Ignoring Veto Threat On Medical Tax Repeal," The Associated Press, 6/7/12)

The Medical Device Tax "Is Especially Harmful Because It Applies To Gross Sales, Not Profits." "The 2.3% levy applies to the sale of everything from cardiac defibrillators to artificial joints to MRI scanners. The device tax is supposed to raise $28.5 billion from 2013 to 2022, and it is especially harmful because it applies to gross sales, not profits." (Editorial, "Improvised Explosive Device Tax," The Wall Street Journal, 6/7/12)

The Medical Device Tax Will Be Imposed On Makers Of Equipment Used By Doctors And Hospitals, Including "X-Ray Machines And Replacement Hips." "The 2.3 percent tax will be imposed on the makers of equipment used chiefly by doctors and hospitals, such as X-ray machines and replacement hips." (Alan Fram, "GOP Ignoring Veto Threat On Medical Tax Repeal," The Associated Press, 6/7/12)

Obamacare's Medical Device Tax Will Cost Thousands Of Jobs And Slow The Already Sputtering Economy:

Obamacare's 2.3% Tax On Medical Devices Is Having "An Immediate Dampening Effect" On Businesses. "Although the fate of the Obama administration's health reform law is unclear — a U.S. Supreme Court ruling is at least months away — one aspect of the law, a 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices, is having an immediate dampening effect. Locally, it's the medical device startups and early-stage businesses that are affected." (Tom Tobin, "Health Care: The Everywhere Issue," The Rochester Democrat And Chronicle, 9/25/11)

"The Tax Will Have Its Greatest Impact On Small And Mid-Size Companies..." "The tax likely will have its greatest impact on small and mid-size companies, particularly those developing new technologies, Seligman wrote. The tax would affect Dublin-based Cardinal Health's $1 billion medical-kit business, said Michael Lynch, executive vice president." (Ben Sutherly, "Medical-Device Makers Fight Tax," The Columbus Dispatch, 5/15/12)

Alex Lukianov, Chairman Of Medical Device Company NuVasive: "[Device Tax] Is Destroying Jobs, Hindering Innovation And Slowing The Economic Recovery." "As the chairman and CEO of NuVasive, a medical device company based in San Diego, I want to share serious concerns I have about certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare) and explain how it is destroying jobs, hindering innovation and slowing the economic recovery." (Alex Lukianov, Op-Ed, "Medical Devices Tax Hinders Innovation," San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/6/12)

Lukianov: "To Offset This Tax Increase, We Will Be Forced To Reduce Investments In Research And Development And Cut Up To 200 Planned New Jobs Next Year." (Alex Lukianov, Op-Ed, "Medical Devices Tax Hinders Innovation," San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/6/12)

The New Tax Will Add Costs, Kill Jobs, And "Cool Interest From Investors" For Start-Ups. "For an established company like Exactech, an excise tax scheduled to start next year on medical devices could cost more than $3 million and lead to fewer new jobs, CEO Bill Petty says. For an early stage company like TrueMotion Spine, the cost of the tax could cool interest from investors, slowing development of implants to restore spinal mobility, President Stephanie Warrington says." (Anthony Clark, "Medical Device Makers Fear New Tax Would Cripple Them," The Gainesvillle Sun, 6/3/12)

The Medical Device Industry Has Estimated That The Tax "Will Cost Thousands Of Jobs." "The medical device industry is seeking to have repealed a 2.3 percent tax on their products that will start in 2013 as part of the Affordable Care Act, saying it will cost thousands of jobs and stifle the development of products designed to improve patients' lives." (Anthony Clark, "Medical Device Makers Fear New Tax Would Cripple Them," The Gainesvillle Sun, 6/3/12)

The Wall Street Journal, On The Medical Device Tax: "Less Innovation, Fewer Jobs, Higher Health Costs—The Usual Obamacare Trifecta." "To the extent they can, device makers will pass this tax on to the hospitals and provider purchasing groups that buy their products, which will ultimately show up in insurance premiums. Or they'll offset the costs with layoffs or by slashing research and development. Less innovation, fewer jobs, higher health costs—the usual ObamaCare trifecta." (Editorial, "Improvised Explosive Device Tax," The Wall Street Journal, 6/7/12)