The tax does not single out the medical device industry for unfair treatment.
The excise tax is one of several new levies on sectors that will gain business due to health reform. The expansion of health coverage will increase the demand for medical devices and could offset the effect of the tax.
The tax will not cause manufacturers to shift production overseas.
The tax applies equally to imported and domestically produced devices, and devices produced in the United States for export are tax-exempt.
The tax will have little effect on innovation in the medical device industry.
To the contrary, health reform may well spur medical device innovation by promoting more cost-effective ways of delivering care.
The tax will have little effect on cosumers
The effect of the excise tax on consumers’ costs for health care and health insurance will be minimal and will be swamped by other factors. Spending on taxable medical devices represents less than 1 percent of total personal health expenditures, so a small increase in their price would have an almost imperceptible effect on health insurance premiums.
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Excise Tax on Medical Devices Should Not Be Repealed
Industry Lobbyists Distort Tax’s Impact
By Paul N. Van de Water
Updated October 2, 2013