FOXNews.com: Bi-partisan push to repeal medical device tax gaining traction in Senate

FOXNews.com FOX News Network - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Bi-partisan push to repeal medical device tax gaining traction in Senate Mar 21st 2013, 21:46 Published March 21, 2013 FoxNews.com Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch is pushing an amendment that would repeal a tax on medical devices – a key part of President Obama's controversial healthcare plan. Hatch's amendment has been gaining bipartisan traction among senators. It's the latest effort to roll back the tax that applies to a range of medical products from surgical tools to heart devices. It's among several taxes in President Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul. The Affordable Care Act levies a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices with the goal of raising nearly $30 billion over the next decade. Manufacturers say the impact of the tax is far greater than meets the eye -- the 2.3 percent tax is on gross sales, meaning it's a much greater percentage of net income.  The Obama administration has defended the medical device tax, saying companies actually stand to benefit from the law. Though the 2.3 percent tax hits the industry, the department argues that the millions of new health care customers insured as a result of the law will increase the demand in hospitals to order more equipment -- in turn boosting medical device companies' profits.  Last year the White House threatened to veto a House bill that would have repealed the tax, citing concerns that the House proposal would offset the lost revenue from the tax by cutting down on subsidies for some families.  This, they said, would effectively "raise taxes on middle-class and low-income families."

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions