Obamacare Medical Device Tax Causes One Company to Lay Off Over 1,000 People

The Weekly Standard ^ | September 10, 2013 | DANIEL HALPER

[don-o]

A Grand Rapids, Michigan report on a company that had to lay off over 1,000 people due to the Obamacare medical device tax:

"There are also new taxes affecting West Michigan industry, in particular, that took effect this year," says a local reporter. "There's a new 2.3 percent excise tax on medical device manufacturers. According to some reports, Kalamazoo based Stryker has laid off more than a thousand people because of it--and owes the federal government upwards of $100 million dollars this year alone. Late last week a Stryker spokesperson told me that Obamacare will cost the company fully 20 percent of its total research and development investments.

[don-o]

The wreck and ruin is real to millions of Americans. I hold out hope that a landslide midterm may halt the plunge into the abyss.

[ridesthemiles]

Would you believe .... heart stents are considered a ‘medical device’? How many people in America are walking around with life-saving stents? (My dad has 10)”””

Simple TONGUE DEPRESSORS are considered a MEDICAL DEVICE-—even Q-tips.

My large animal vet will have to pay taxes on some devices which cross over between humans & large animals like horses. Her exam gloves come under this category!!!

[bunkerhill7]

After Obummer drops one 100 pound bomb on a Syrian olive grove,
Obummer will give Assad billions in Foreign Aid-to repair all the mess-
Just move all USA medical companies to Syria
and get free USA foreign aid tax dollars;

[MissMagnolia]

I had heard about the hit vets were taking under Obamacare. BO’s vet has probably been exempted (/s/). What a Cluster F.

[dragonblustar]

I have little faith these days. I feel beat down and dragged out and left to rot.

[Balding_Eagle]

why in the hell would you pay an ‘exise tax’ on a MEDICAL DEVICE??

And that's 2.3% on GROSS sales.

That means the average employee of a medical device company near me (almost a 1,000 employees) has to earn, for the company, and extra $40 PER HOUR just for the company to pay just this tax.

[KosmicKitty]

Obamacare cost my husband his job. He worked for a company that supported insurance companies. The companies are cutting back on such services, so there went his job.

Thanks BO