As the country hurtles toward financial default and the government shutdown enters it's 16th day, one of the crucial elements surfacing in various GOP proposals to end the stalemate is a repeal of the medical device tax, passed as part of the Affordable Care Act. While the industry was not powerful enough to keep the tax out of Obamacare, it has waged a strong campaign since to win a repeal, employing Washington lobbyists-for-hire with deep Washington contacts. Meet some of these lobbyists via our Influence Explorer and Party Time tools.
Tarplin, Downs & Young. Cofounded in 2006 by a trio ...
Continue readingBacked by Hatch, Klobuchar, medical device makers score victory
In the two weeks before the Senate passed a resolution to repeal a tax on medical devices that was part of President Obama's health care overhaul, medical device interests threw a pair of fundraisers benefiting the leadership PAC of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a longtime friend of the industry.
Continue readingGuess who’s giving to lawmaker trying to repeal tax on medical devices?
The Minnesota congressman leading the charge to repeal a medical device excise tax that is meant to generate a big chunk of funding for the health care reform law has taken the most campaign money--more than $64,000--from medical device manufacturers this election cycle.
Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., has attracted 240 cosponsors, including 11 Democrats, for his bill to repeal the 2.3 percent excise tax, which the House is scheduled to consider this week. Paulsen hails from a state where the medical device industry is a substantial employer. Companies such as Medtronic, St. Jude Medical, and Starkey Laboratories ...
Continue readingDangerous medical device ‘loophole’ still wide open
Consumer groups are crying foul over bipartisan legislation to extend user fees for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. They say that the bill, which the Senate hopes to pass this week, is missing a provision that would close a dangerous loophole in medical device safety.
Right now, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the power to require medical device manufacturers to prove they've fixed known safety flaws before they put a new device on the market. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., both introduced bills earlier this year that would give the FDA this ...
Continue readingSimilac recall: new FDA data on beetle-infested formula, other recalls too
A few days ago I received a plain white envelope in the mail from Abbott, the infant formula manufacturer. Inside... View Article
Continue readingLawmakers Pushed FDA To Approve Device
The New York Times reports on a really ugly confluence of politics and campaign contributions. Four New Jersey lawmakers pressured... View Article
Continue readingRead the Bill: Hurry to Pass Drug and Medical Device Law
Next in our series on why it’s so important that Congress #ReadtheBill, and provide access to legislation to the public... View Article
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