Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) led the House of Representatives to passing a full repeal of the 2.3 percent tax on medical device manufacturers that harms these important employers and raises costs on consumers. In October, Rep. Stefanik signed on to a letter urging action on this issue. This past December she teamed up with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) to call for a full repeal of this tax. Today, the House passed H.R. 184, the Protect Medical Innovation Act, legislation she cosponsored to fully repeal the tax.
“This is an extremely important issue for our district, especially in Warren County, home of what is called ‘catheter valley’ because of the numerous catheter manufacturers,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “The Affordable Care Act’s onerous medical device tax limits access to the healthcare devices that North Country families need and undermines the medical device industry that is so important to our local economy. Furthermore, repealing this legislation helps these important small businesses create jobs for North Country families and protect employees who are currently at risk from this job killing tax. I am pleased to deliver this important healthcare win for our district and will continue fighting to improve our North Country healthcare system.”
Vince Forlenza, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BD (which recently acquired C.R. Bard) in Warren County: “On behalf of our 750 employees in Glens Falls and 65,000 associates across the globe, I want to thank Congresswoman Elise Stefanik for her leadership in the fight to repeal the medical device tax. Congresswoman Stefanik understands the impact the medical device tax has on innovation and we appreciate her hard work that led to a strong bipartisan vote in the House.”
Gabor J. Racz, President, Epimed International, Inc. in Fulton County: “As a medical device manufacturer with a long presence in Upstate New York, Epimed is greatly appreciative to our congressional representative, Elise Stefanik, in her effort to repeal the 2.3% Medical Device Excise Tax. The tax had a profoundly negative affect on Epimed's ability to invest in R&D and US Manufacturing operations. Congresswoman Stefanik has proven to be a wise and skillful advocate for the 21st District of NY. We look forward to her continued assistance in the region for creating jobs.”
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