U.S. Senate Readies for Medical Device Tax Hearings

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee is gearing up for hearings on repealing the medical device tax, with the Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)-chaired healthcare subcommittee initiating the deliberations.

Enacted in 2010 by the Affordable Care Act and in effect since 2013, the tax is a 2.3 percent surcharge on U.S. sales of prescribed medical devices.

The hearings are slated for the near future, says Jay Khosla, policy director for committee chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Khosla declined to give a specific date.

In the Senate, two bills that would repeal the tax are being floated — the Hatch-sponsored Medical Device Access & Innovation Protection Act and the Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.)-sponsored No Taxation on Device Innovation Act.

Markey’s bill, introduced on March 24, calls for closing energy industry tax giveaways and free-drilling loopholes to make up for the lost revenue.

As for the U.S. House, Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), has introduced “Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015.” The bill is similar to one passed in the House last year that did not clear the Senate before the 113th Congress adjourned. — Jason Scott