Dear Lori:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the medical device tax. I appreciate hearing from you. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that medical devices and drugs are both safe and readily available to American patients. Over the past year, I spoke with doctors, patients, families, and businesses to learn from people on the ground about keeping our medical device industry innovative while providing patients with safe and effective devices.
You may be interested to know that the Senate passed a Budget Resolution (S.Con.Res.8) on March 23, 2013. I supported an amendment that would create a deficit-neutral reserve fund to repeal the medical device tax. Although the budget is a nonbinding resolution, I believe that this amendment offers an opportunity to continue this important discussion of how to amend this tax in a way that does not add to our nation’s debt and deficit.
Additionally, on June 26, 2012, the Senate passed the FDA Safety and Innovation Act (FDAISA) by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 92 to 4. FDASIA was signed in to law by the President on July 9, 2012. The bill makes long-awaited changes to outdated regulations and allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to focus on the safety and quality of the drugs and devices Coloradans use every day. FDASIA also creates a process to get new life-saving, breakthrough therapies to patients faster and advance medical device innovations.