Taxes do make a difference. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce figures from 2012 to 2015, the number of U.S. medtech jobs declined from 401,472 to 372,638. That was a loss of 28,834 or a 7.2% decrease for the time period.
Device Tax Cost 28,000 Medtech Jobs
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Secondary
This decline took place while the medical device excise tax was in effect.
Job losses began to take place in 2012, according to Commerce Department figures, a loss attributed to anticipation of the device tax going into effect the next year. The loss accelerated in 2014 with an additional reduction of 27,022. The medical device tax was suspended for two years beginning in late 2015.
“These numbers reveal just how devastating of an impact the device tax had on our industry and underscore the urgent need for permanent repeal,” said Scott Whitaker, president and CEO of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed). “At a time when American device manufacturers are ready to grow and create jobs, the best message this Congress and the Administration can send is through a full and permanent repeal.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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