Congressman Peters Co-Sponsors the Protect Medical Innovation Act

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) helped introduce the Protect Medical Innovation Act which would repeal the nearly $30 billion Medical Device Tax from the Affordable Care Act. Studies show that the tax, which took effect on January 1st, could cause the loss of as many as 43,000 jobs. The tax will hurt San Diego by impairing patient access to cutting edge services and stifling the ability for San Diego’s health care sector to compete in an innovative way. Nearly 10,000 people in San Diego are in the medical device industry and 240 medical device companies are based in San Diego.

“CONNECT applauds Congressman Scott Peters for being an original cosponsor of the House bill to repeal the medical device tax,” said Duane Roth, Chief Executive Officer of San Diego based CONNECT. “Congressman Peters’ action to support the bill is desperately needed.  If the purpose of health care reform was to bend the cost curve down while improving patient care, then the medical device tax is unwarranted because the medtech industry accomplishes the main goals of health care reform. The tax is also inequitable because it hurts small and mid-cap companies in an uneven way. “

“Congressman Peters’ co-sponsorship of this bill shows a commitment to our community and economy,” said Alex Lukianov, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of San Diego based company, NuVasive. “Innovation has made the United States the world leader in health care and this tax is discouraging the very innovation that has saved and restored the lives of millions of patients. To offset this tax increase, we were forced to make a very difficult decision to reduce investments in research and development and to delay an anticipated 200 new jobs. This tax must be repealed for the economic and physical health of San Diego.”

“Volcano supports Congressman Peters’ efforts to repeal the medical device tax,” said Scott Huennekens, President and Chief Executive Officer of San Diego based company, Volcano. “At Volcano, we are focused on building technologies that can accelerate higher quality care at lower cost by reducing unnecessary procedures and enabling more precise, personalized therapies and treatment. In short, we are part of the solution. Policies like the medical device tax can stifle the innovation efforts, job growth, and exports of growing medical device companies working to improve the lives of patients globally.”

“I promised to help repeal the medical device tax before I was elected, and today I am proud to be a co-sponsor of the Protect Medical Innovation Act, a bipartisan effort to repeal this tax,” said Congressman Peters. “The medical device industry is an employer as well as provider for the people of San Diego. This tax threatens the livelihood of many people in San Diego, and the cutting edge services we rely on for our quality of life. I urge the House to take the next step and pass this legislation.”

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