It has been two years since the controversial 2.3% medical device tax was signed into law as part of the Affordable Care Act. Set to go into effect in January 2013, the medical device tax has been at the center of a heated national debate that only seems to escalate as the industry’s doomsday approaches. In addition to concerted efforts to repeal the tax, the medical device industry and its supporters have emphasized the serious potential consequences associated with implementation of the tax. Among them are large-scale layoffs, relocation of operations out of the country, barriers to innovation, and prices being passed on to consumers—an outcome that negates the purpose of the bill.
Will all the gloom and doom come to fruition? Only time will tell. A fair portion of medtech professionals continue to hold out hope. In fact, in an online poll conducted last month on mddionline.com, optimists edged out pessimists with 55% of respondents saying that they thought that the tax would be repealed.