Repealing the medical device tax

The medical device industry has brought incredible advances to the practice of medicine in recent decades. This diverse industry, ranging from CT and MR machines to laboratory diagnostic instruments and pacemakers, is a source of extraordinary medical innovations as well as thousands of well paying jobs in the U.S.
 
Unfortunately, this innovative industry is under threat due to the Medical Device Tax, a 2.3% excise tax on the U.S. sale of medical devices. This tax is a significant burden on the industry and will amount to an even more substantial impact than first estimated. The true cost of the tax over the next 10 years is estimated at $30 billion. 

A tax of this magnitude will be deeply felt by the industry and by the health care system as it creates a more difficult environment to create jobs and develop new life-saving innovations. For a company that engineered the world's first cardiac pacemaker, the world’s first real-time ultrasound diagnostic device, and the world’s first integrated whole body PET-MR, a $1 billion loss in revenue over ten years could have a significant effect on our ability to invest in the type of R&D and product development that leads to these types of life-saving inventions. 

Innovative technologies that provide early detection and reliable diagnosis developed by companies like Siemens are an integral part in creating the kind of healthcare system I hoped to deliver as a physician and the quality of care I want for our healthcare system today. Congress has the opportunity to ensure that companies like Siemens are able to create the next generation of life-saving medical devices and protect American jobs by repealing the Medical Device Tax.  
 
Dr. Sorensen is Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Healthcare North America.
 

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