PMMI ProSource – Start Your Search
Check out our packaging and processing solutions finder, PMMI ProSource.

Shift in Congress gives hope to repeal of medical device tax

At minimum, a reduction of the medical device tax could happen as the GOP takes over the Senate, analysts predict.

Last week's mid-term elections and shift in Congressional power, could potentially mean a repeal, or at least lowering, of the 2.3 percent medical device tax imposed as part of the Affordable Care Act.

The Record, reports that Larry Biegelsen, a Wells Fargo Securities analyst, in a research report, said, "the odds of repealing the tax increases significantly," once Republicans take control of the Senate.

The New Jersey-based newspaper is in a state rich with companies that are impacted by the tax.

But, it's not just the East Coast's pharma corridor who has a keen interest in what happens with the tax.

Venture capitalists and Silicon Valley incubators are also watching closely, as tech start-ups have taken a key interest health industry companies and solutions.

The medical device tax, especially at the current 2.3 percent, could slow innovation down, some worry.

"Some degree of device taxes is reasonable," Dan Burnett, who operates the TheraNova med device incubator in San Francisco, told the San Francisco Business Times. "I hope that it can be altered."