Indianapolis – In a letter sent Monday to the Indiana Congressional Delegation, Governor Mike Pence calls on Congress to pass H.R. 160, the Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015, which eliminates the 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices that was originally passed as part of the Affordable Care Act. The House is expected to vote on the legislation early this week.
“The life sciences industry has a $59 billion impact on Indiana’s economy, employing more than 56,000 Hoosiers with 20,000 of them in medical device-related jobs,” wrote Governor Pence. “Yet because of the medical device tax, research and development have been reduced, expansion plans have been put on hold, and some manufacturers have moved product lines outside of the country. Rather than stifling this industry, it should be encouraged to innovate, expand, and grow jobs domestically, preferably in Indiana.”
Indiana is second in the nation, behind California, in exports of life sciences products at a value of more than $9.8 billion. The medical device industry provides good-paying jobs, with companies paying 56 percent more than the average wage in Indiana, and more than half of the industry’s jobs do not require a college degree, meaning that this work is available to a wide range of Hoosiers.
“We have a strong history with life sciences and medical devices in Indiana that we are well-poised to build upon in the future, but eliminating the federal medical device tax is a key step to our future success,” wrote Pence. “The Protect Medical Innovation Act and its companion Senate bill have been cosponsored by nine bipartisan, bicameral members of the Indiana delegation. Given the strong support for this legislation, upon passage in the House I hope the Senate will promptly pass this bill and send it to President Obama for his signature.”
