Federal budget negotiations currently underway in the U.S. Congress would rescind a controversial tax on medical device sales in the country. The much-maligned Medical Device Excise Tax (MDET) on 2.3% of medical device companies’ gross sales in the U.S. would be repealed under a version of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 already passed by the House of Representatives and now under consideration in the Senate.
Previous attempts by medical device industry trade groups and some lawmakers to repeal MDET have proven unsuccessful, and resulted in veto threats from President Obama. Tying MDET repeal up within a larger federal funding bill, however, may significantly improve the chances of its passage. The budget still has to gain Senate approval and then go through a final reconciliation process, but Obama has indicated he will sign the legislation if it gets to his desk. Specific language in the proposed budget can be found in Section 332 of the Act.
REFERENCE: 19 DEC 2013; MassDevice.com (Boston); ABC News; 18 DEC, 2013; MassDevice