In the Midst of August Recess, the Clock Continues to Tick.
August Recess is upon us, and, as always, homebound lawmakers are spending their time holding town halls and meeting with constituents to discuss important issues. In the midst of a slew of broad sweeping healthcare proposals coming from the Democratic presidential field, as well as a possible September roll-out of the Trump administration’s healthcare plan, lawmakers are sure to be greeted with a lot of healthcare questions from constituents like you.
As your lawmakers ponder the merits of the various health policy overhauls being offered, they should also consider amending a healthcare policy already on the books which undermines patient access and hurt American jobs: the medical device tax.
Although the 2.3% excise tax on the sale of medical devices is suspended until early 2020, time is running out for a full repeal of this poorly realized policy. If lawmakers are unable to come together and implement a comprehensive repeal of the tax before next year, countless patients and medical innovators will be undermined.
To make matters worse, many states with prosperous medical device manufacturing industries will also be bruised if Congress doesn’t act. States such as Pennsylvania, Washington, and Massachusetts, whose robust medical technology sectors were recently highlighted in a series of economic impact reports, would lose high paying jobs that contribute to the state and local economies.
We need Congress to act now – before it’s too late.
As a constituent, it’s important that your lawmakers hear about this issue from you. Ask your lawmakers to champion jobs, innovation, and patient access by supporting a full repeal of the device tax before time is up:
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