Bloomington, Ind. – On the heels of President Obama’s speech to Congress about the critical need to accelerate US job growth, Cook Medical today applauded a new study from AdvaMed demonstrating that a new medical device excise tax would cost the US jobs, stifle innovation and limit patient access to new medical technologies.
The new tax, which goes into effect 2013, is in sharp contrast to the President’s job creation proposal. According to the AdvaMed study, the hefty 2.3 percent tax on medical device sales will negatively impact the operations of US-based medical device manufacturers and further exacerbate the decline of US manufacturing jobs. The report estimates that the excise tax will put about 43,000 – 10 percent – of the 400,000+ US-based medical device employees out of work, resulting in $3.5 billion in lost wages.
“Cook Medical has always been committed to improving the quality of patient care and working to ensure that patients have access to the latest medical device innovations. It is from this stance that the company approaches issues related to job creation, innovation and the medical device excise tax,” said Kem Hawkins, president of Cook Medical. “One of our main concerns from the AdvaMed report is that much of the current innovation in the US medical device industry could shift overseas. The US leads global innovation in medical devices. Stifling innovation could limit worldwide patient access to new medical technologies in the years to come. With the need to create and support US-based jobs, it is clear that Congress should repeal this tax based on the negative impact it will have on this critically important growth industry.”
Cook Medical remains committed to advancing the United States’ competitiveness in the global medical device marketplace through a focus on US-based jobs, and supports pending House and Senate legislation that would repeal the medical device excise tax, Hawkins added.
About Cook Medical
Founded in 1963, Cook Medical pioneered many of the medical devices now commonly used to perform minimally invasive medical procedures throughout the body. Today, the company integrates medical devices, drugs and biologic grafts to enhance patient safety and improve clinical outcomes. Since its inception, Cook has operated as a family-held private corporation. For more information, visit www.cookmedical.com. Follow Cook Medical on Twitter @CookMedicalPR.