Advocacy - Lab Advocate
On November 8th, Republican Donald Trump was elected 45th President of the United States. Joining the new president will be a GOP-controlled Congress as Republicans retained majorities in the both the Upper and Lower chambers. Unified party control should allow the incoming president to get his cabinet officials confirmed quickly and give him great influence over the policy agenda in Washington.
High on the president-elect’s agenda is making changes to the Affordable Care Act. A potential blueprint for many changes is the budget reconciliation bill that was passed by the GOP in 2015. The measure would repeal Medicaid expansion for new adults, the employer tax on high-cost health plans and eliminate the individual and employer mandates to purchase insurance. In addition, the bill eliminated the $30 billion tax on medical devices. Although President Obama vetoed the previous bill, congressional Republicans are hopeful they can succeed in getting a similar package signed into law under the new administration.
AACC supports repeal of the medical device excise tax. AACC has long asserted that the tax places an undue financial burden on device manufacturers. Over the past few decades, advances in medical technology have contributed to significant gains in patient care. This progress has contributed to a 16% reduction in annual mortality and a 3.2-year increase in life expectancy. AACC is concerned that a continuation of this tax may jeopardize these improvements.
AACC will work with the new Administration and the incoming members of the House and Senate as they consider these and other reforms to the health delivery system.