And Patrick Hope, executive director of the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, told HCB News prior to the passage of the bill that, “we have information from the U.S. Department of Commerce that showed once the tax went into place, its direct impact on the economy was a loss of nearly 29,000 jobs in the whole medical device industry,” and that there was also an American Action Forum study that predicted a loss of 25,000 additional jobs by 2021 if the tax stays in effect.

Supporters of the tax, however, maintain that makers can grow their way out of the problem with a rise in medical device sales.


Lee thinks the moratorium gives policymakers time to rethink their options.

One way to reduce the device tax impact is to spread the pain, Lee suggested, by having taxes put on others, including the health insurers, who also benefit from increased demand from the healthcare reform act.

"If there is a broader tax base, the negative effects will be reduced," Lee said. "The government needs to raise revenue to cover the costs of the Affordable Care Act, but there are other ways to do it without harming a research and development-intensive industry."

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