U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and a bipartisan group of her Arizona colleagues this week urged congressional leaders to permanently repeal the medical device tax.
“We write to urge bipartisan action before the current suspension of the tax expires on December 31, 2019. We are extremely concerned its resumption will harm the sustainability of the medical device industry, which provides life-saving technology to millions of patients and supports 400,000 American workers, including over 17,000 in Arizona,” wrote Sen. McSally and the lawmakers in a Sept. 16 letter sent to leaders in both houses of Congress.
Among the lawmakers joining Sen. McSally were U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and seven members from the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Arizona Congressional Delegation members who signed the letter are all cosponsors of the Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2019, S. 692/H.R. 2207, which would permanently repeal the medical device tax.
A return of the tax would raise health care costs on consumers, according to a statement released by Sen. McSally’s office, which noted that the medical device industry in Arizona contributes almost $3 billion to the state’s economy.
“We have seen the negative impact the tax can have on this life-saving industry,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is ultimately the patients who rely upon these innovative technologies who will suffer the burden of this tax if it goes back into effect.”
Sen. McSally and her colleagues also wrote that the tax will “endanger jobs, dampen innovation and harm the overall quality of health care.”
They called on Congress to come together to prevent the tax from being reinstated and told leaders that they “stand ready to work with you to accomplish this goal.”