Here’s what you should know:
1. The 2.3 percent tax on sales of medical devices was enacted to help pay for the ACA. The tax’s implementation has been delayed several times, but it’s set to go into effect in 2020.
2. The bill to repeal the tax has 269 co-sponsors in the House, 43 of whom are Democrats. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is one prominent Democrat supporting the repeal.
3. Republicans and some Democrats opposed the tax over concerns it hurts innovation for life-saving medical devices.
“A House vote on full repeal of this stifling tax sends the right message that Congress is serious about creating more jobs and incentivizing this industry to continue to develop new innovative medical breakthroughs which impacts millions of American lives every day,” Advanced Medical Technology Association CEO Scott Whitaker said.
4. If the device tax is repealed, it would reduce federal revenues by about $20 billion over a decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Paul Van de Water of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the government can use all the revenues it can get amid “large and growing deficits.”
5. If the bill passes, it could give sponsor Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., a boost on the campaign trail. Mr. Paulsen receives a large amount of campaign donations from medical device companies, according to Open Secrets.
“We’ve got a lot of little companies that want to become the next Medtronic or Boston Scientific, so, yeah, I’m sure it’s something we’ll be talking about in terms of getting something done in an atmosphere where it’s tougher to get stuff done,” he told The Hill.
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