By Susan Duclos
Within the flurry of votes by the U.S. Senate, was one specific amendment to repeal the job killing Medical Device Tax that was written into the Obamacare health care law aka Affordable Care Act.
The amendment was offered by Senator Orrin (R-UT), with the statement of purpose being: To promote innovation, preserve high-paying jobs, and encourage economic
growth for manufacturers of lifesaving medical devices and cutting edge
medical therapies.
The U.S. Senate, in a bipartisan vote of 79-20, voted to repeal the Medical Device Tax. (Roll call here)
Those who voted against the amendment listed below:
NAYs ---20
Baucus (D-MT)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Carper (D-DE)
Coons (D-DE)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)Heinrich (D-NM)
Hirono (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
McCaskill (D-MO)Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schatz (D-HI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-NM)
A study released back in 2012, prepared for the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) by Battelle Technology Partnership Practice, the study found that the tax on medical device manufacturers, would cause a loss of jobs for tens of thousands of workers, cost $2 billion in personal income for U.S. workers and more than $8 billion in national economic output.
Via Boston Globe:
The Senate voted 79 to 20 to repeal the tax Thursday evening in a bipartisan budget amendment in a nonbinding resolution. Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and William “Mo” Cowan signed on to the repeal after last-minute lobbying from Massachusetts medical device makers.
A House version of the bill, sponsored by Representative Erik Paulsen, a Minnesota Republican, has drawn 212 cosponsors, including four Massachusetts Democrats: Niki Tsongas of Lowell, Michael E. Capuano of Somerville, William R. Keating of Bourne, and Stephen F. Lynch of South Boston.
The Medical Device Tax is one of 20 new or higher taxes on American families, contained in the Obamcare law.
