On a vote of 283-132, the House passed H.R. 184 (115), a bill which will permanently eliminate the 2.3 percent tax on medical devices. The Affordable Care Act-connected tax was collected from 2013 to 2015 but is currently suspended through 2019.
The chief sponsor of the bill, Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) is pushing the legislation forward on the argument that the tax has stifled innovation and permanently ending the tax is imperative for the medical device industry. Critics of the anti-device tax bill have said the tax doesn’t hurt consumers and that getting rid of it would result in about $19 billion in less revenue collected over a decade.
There is no clear path forward for the measure in the Senate this year.
