Rep. Joyce calls for repeal of medical device tax

Saying a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices is stifling healthcare research and development, first-term Congressman John Joyce, R-Altoona, on Monday said he will cosponsor legislation to repeal the tax before it is reinstated for the 2020 calendar year.

The tax was first implemented in 2013 as an effort to help fund the subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. It applies to the price of everything from MRI machines to surgical gloves. Lawmakers of both parties have voted multiple times since 2015 to temporarily halt the tax due to the problems it was causing patients and providers in the healthcare industry.

A spokesman for Joyce said the House passed such legislation in July, but the measure stalled in the Senate.

Joyce’s office said the Tax Foundation estimated that the medical device tax lowered research and development spending by $34 million in 2013 and was responsible for the elimination of about 21,800 jobs between 2013 and 2015.