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Fresh off his vote to repeal healthcare reform, Minnesota Congressman Erik Paulsen is circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter hoping to gather sponsors and resurrect his bill to repeal the medical device tax (called the Defend Medical Innovation Act).
“If we are to strengthen our economy the government should be taking actions to encourage medical innovation, not killing it,” according to Paulsen’s letter. “As many of you know, device manufacturers will have to cut R & D or may be forced to lay off employees due to this disastrous tax.” (Emphasis his)
Paulsen originally introduced the medical device tax repeal legislation in April.
The bill foundered, though, and the re-introduction will likely get stuck in the guerrilla war that is healthcare reform repeal. The money raised from the medical device tax is being used to fund President Obama’s healthcare reform legislation. Unless healthcare reform disappears — and that may take two years — it’s unlikely that repealing the medical device tax will have enough votes.
Nonetheless, you have to admire Paulsen’s vigor in his letter.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
