Could a Device Tax Repeal Spell the End for the Affordable Care Act?

The prospect of repealing the medical device tax still seems to be an uphill battle. On June 6, the White House threatened to veto Rep. Erik Paulsen’s (R-MN) device-tax-repeal bill, H.R. 436, the Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2011, which passed with a 270–146 vote.* Still, the movement against the tax is gaining steam, and, according to a recent Forbes piece, a number of Democrats worry that Rep. Erik Paulsen’s (R-MN) device-tax-repeal bill, H.R. 436, the Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2011, could be “the beginning of dismantling the new health care law.”

It might take years to undo healthcare reform, explains Forbes contributor Kelly Phillips Erb, but, get rid of enough of its provisions, and the whole thing might come crashing down like a Jenga puzzle. At the moment, the GOP isn't just taking aim at the device tax but is also seeking to overturn an Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement for over-the-counter prescrptions. Specifically, that provision requires a doctor's prescription to use funds from tax-preferred health accounts for OTC medicines.

If these two provisions are overturned, the attack on other provisions of the ACA could begin in earnest. As a recent report from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington, DC) explains: repealing the medical device tax, for instance, “would encourage efforts to repeal other revenue-raising provisions of the ACA [Affordable Care Act].” The report stops short, however, of speculating that a device tax repeal could ultimately mean the end for the ACA. In any event, the legislation is less than popular; a recent poll found that only 36% of Americans support it.

Of course, the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling on the legality of the healthcare reform remains a wild card. But at least some of the provisions of the act will likely live on. Extending comprehensive insurance coverage to people with pre-existing coverage has bipartisan support. The ACA’s provision to extend insurance coverage to young adults under the age of 26 also is broadly popular.

Brian Buntz is the editor-at-large at UBM Canon's medical group. Follow him on Twitter at @brian_buntz. 

Image: Wikimedia Commons 

*This article was edited 6/11/12 to reflect the passage of bill H.R. 436, which occured on 6/7/12.