A proposed tax on medical device companies would be diluted in several ways under a new amendment to the U.S. Senate's health-care overhaul legislation, a move welcomed Monday by Minnesota's medical technology community.
The Senate bill calls for a $20 billion tax on medical device companies to help pay for health care reform, down from the $40 billion originally proposed in the bill. The amendment, introduced Monday by U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Evan Bayh, D-Ind., also would exempt companies with annual revenue below $100 million.
In addition, the amendment would make the levy deductible and would call for the tax to take effect in 2013, not 2010.
Stephen Ubl, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based med-tech industry group AdvaMed, said in a statement Monday that the amendment would not reduce the overall revenue generated by device companies to pay for reform but would "help protect small companies who are often the drivers of both innovation and employment."
He said a later start date would give companies time to prepare for the tax, avoid putting an additional burden on the industry during difficult economic times, and make the timing of the tax more consistent with the timing of expanded coverage.
JANET MOORE
