AARC Supports Repeal of Device Tax

July 11, 2012

The medical device tax included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has the potential to significantly affect both respiratory patients and respiratory manufacturers, and the AARC is going on record in support of its repeal in a new letter sent to Congress.

The AARC’s primary concern is that equipment manufacturers who are required to pay the tax will pass the cost of the tax on to consumers. Many pulmonary patients who purchase respiratory equipment on the retail market for use in their homes will suffer as a result because devices such as oxygen concentrators, portable oxygen systems, pulse oximeters, etc., are included under the anesthesiology devices category and thus do not qualify for the retail tax exemption.

The tax will also make it more difficult for manufacturers, particularly small companies, to develop new equipment that could improve the lives of people living with chronic respiratory conditions.

HR 346, which is currently pending in the House of Representatives, includes a provision that would repeal the tax.

“We strongly support and encourage Congress to enact HR 346 and the provision in this legislation to repeal the medical device tax in an effort to avert adverse outcomes for those pulmonary patients who suffer every day with debilitating chronic respiratory diseases,” writes AARC President Karen Stewart, MSc, RRT, FAARC.