MITA joins appeals against medical device tax

Medical technology organisations are once again calling on US government officials to reconsider the medical device tax.

The tax is part of the Affordable Care Act and places a 2.3% tax on any medical devices sold. It had been suspended from 2016 but came back into the effect when it expired at the end of December 2017.

Now, the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), the Advanced Medical Technical Association (AdvaMed) and the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA) have penned a combined letter calling upon Congress to find a long-term solution for the medical device tax.

The groups have asked that Congress discuss the tax during their first legislative meeting this week. This is ahead of January 29 when manufacturers will be required to resume paying the tax.

According to HCB News, MITA says that the tax has ‘directly’ impacted the US economy and resulted in the loss of almost 29,000 jobs.

Patrick Hope, executive director of MITA, told HCB News: “We have information from the U.S. department of Commerce that showed once the tax went into place, its direct impact on the economy was a loss of nearly 29,000 jobs in the whole medical device industry. There was another study that came out by the American Action Forum, and they are predicting that 25,000 additional jobs could be lost by 2021 if the tax is allowed to remain in effect. We know there’s a cause and effect here. We’re seeing how it negatively impacts our economy by job loss and by discouraging innovation in products.”

CEO of AdvaMed, Scott Whitaker, appealed to president Trump last year in a letter stating that the tax would threaten US jobs and hinder innovation. Whitaker wrote: “I am writing to you to underscore the devastating impact this tax has and will have on our industry. I know you have long supported repealing this onerous tax. I want to emphasize why, unlike other business taxes, retroactive relief from the device tax is not feasible and why action this year is essential”.