A recent report compiled by the Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress bolsters the case against a medical device tax that large manufacturers such as Bloomington-based Cook Group say has halted expansion efforts in the U.S.

U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and an opponent of the medical device tax, released the report, which details the tax’s flaws. As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act since Jan. 1, 2013, manufacturers, producers and importers have operated under a 2.3 percent tax on the sale of certain medical devices. The tax was one of the ways devised to pay for the health insurance program commonly referred to as Obamacare.

“This important report confirms what employers and a bipartisan majority in Congress have been saying: The medical device tax must go,” said Coats in a news release. “Not only does this tax violate commonly accepted principles of sound tax policy, but it also stifles job creation, economic growth and research and development in the life-enhancing and life-saving medical technology industry. Congress should be encouraging these manufacturers to continue their research and development of life-saving products, not punishing these employers.”

Steve Ferguson, chairman of Cook Group, has told The Herald-Times in previous interviews that the tax has hindered competition and innovation within the market. Cook Group has argued the tax is consuming revenue that could be used to open new plants in the United States. Orthopediatrics, a medical device company based in Warsaw, Indiana, also has cut research and development efforts in an attempt to offset the tax.
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