The United States officially abolished the medical device consumption tax!

Fan Dongdong The U.S Senate voted 70-29 to remove the 2.3% sales tax on medical devices in the affordable care act to help cover patients who are not covered by medical insurance Recently, the U.S federal government signed the latest spending agreement, announcing the formal abolition of the consumption tax on medical devices The tax has been suspended since 2016, but the current suspension will expire at the end of 2019, after which Congress will either continue to expand the tax rate or completely abolish it The act was originally part of the Affordable Care Act, which came into force in 2013 For three years, the tax levied 2.3% of the product sales fees on manufacturers, producers and importers, excluding glasses, contact lenses and hearing aids, as well as medical products that consumers can usually buy in retail pharmacies The survey found that the impact of medical device tax on the industry and consumers is negative This tax not only failed to reduce the cost of health care for consumers, but also increased the cost and burden of the health care industry Throughout the world, the United States is still the world's largest medical device market Critics argue that the medical device tax cuts jobs in the medical device industry, creates unfair competition and hinders innovation in patient care development and research According to the industry lobby, the tax will total $25 billion in a decade Citing an analysis by the US tax foundation, if the tax goes into effect permanently, it could cost the US market more than 21000 jobs in the near future A survey conducted in 2016 showed that about 70% of companies agreed to permanently abolish the medical device tax Major organizations, including the American Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of manufacturers, also urged the federal government to repeal the bill as soon as possible The tax was also lifted with the support of the trump government, a staunch opponent of the affordable care bill.