DMN: Who else did you talk to on this trip?
DU: We've also continued to speak with the IRS and we're grateful to them for their informative sessions on the applicability of the medical device excise tax as it applies to pre-owned equipment, and we're grateful that it won't be on pre-owned equipment. [Note: The medical device tax does apply to pre-owned equipment imported into the U.S. for sale.] How it's going to apply to ancillary stuff, and new software and that sort of thing is a work-in-progress, and I don't know the answer to that.

I also met with the National Rural Health Association. They have a lot of the same issues that we have, in that they have small hospitals and they need access too, and have difficulty getting them. And those hospitals, just like many IAMERS members, are really small businesses.
DMN: How often do you visit with lawmakers?
DU: Sometimes I'm down here every three weeks. Sometimes I'm not down here for a while. It really depends on what's in session and how many people I can meet. Sometimes I come down for a short period of time. This time I was here for 4 days. The other reason for my visit this time is that the next domestic IAMERS meeting will be in Washington D.C. Believe it or not, there are already hotels that are booked out for those dates. The next meeting will start on Wednesday, April 30, of 2014. I was looking at hotels for that, places to have the meeting.

DMN: What was the political climate like in Washington?
DU: I think that it depends on who you talk to, and how long you've been talking to them. Lobbying is a really ongoing process. It takes a long time to educate people in terms of what you're doing, and how they can help, and then to bring that help to some tangible issue, to where you get them to really engage. It's a long process. There are a bazillion lobbyists in Washington, because it's all really ongoing. It takes a long time to move it along.

Back to HCB News

More Industry Headlines