Research Briefing

Obama Swings Into Boston For Some Campaign Coin, While Bay Staters Brace For Health Reform’s Jobs “Death Blow”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “I Know It’s An Election Year.  …[I]t’s Clear That Campaign Fever Has Come Even Earlier Than Usual.  But We Still Need To Govern.” (President Barack Obama, State Of The Union Address, Washington, DC, 1/27/10)

IN JANUARY, MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS SENT OBAMA A MESSAGE, BUT HE RAMMED HIS HEALTH CARE BILL THROUGH ANYWAY

Sen. Scott Brown Rode “Wave Of Opposition To Democratic Health-Care Reform.” “Riding a wave of opposition to Democratic health-care reform, GOP upstart Scott Brown is leading in the U.S. Senate race, raising the odds of a historic upset that would reverberate all the way to the White House, a new poll shows.” (Jessica Van Sack, “Poll shocker: Scott Brown surges ahead in Senate race,” The Boston Herald, 1/15/10)

• Obama Voter George On Why He Voted For Brown: “I wanted to send a message. I’m a lifelong Democrat.  I think they’ve been trying to shove this bill and this health care bill right down our throats.” (FNC’s Hannity, 1/19/10)
  
  
• Obama Voter Robert On Why He Voted For Brown: “Growing dynamic of a growing public sector funded by a shrinking private sector and the health care bill only exacerbates that.” (FNC’s Hannity, 1/19/10)
  
  
• Focus Group Member On Message Sent By Vote For Brown: “Kill health care [bill].  There is nothing wrong with our system, it needs improvement but it is a good system.” (FNC’s Hannity, 1/19/10)

But Despite Loss, Obama And Congressional Dems Rammed Health Care Through With Reconciliation Tactic Rather Than Hear The Message. “President Obama signed into law the last piece of his mammoth plan to overhaul healthcare Tuesday, and achieved another dramatic and far-reaching change with the very same pen stroke -- revamping the way most Americas help pay for a college education. The healthcare provisions and changes to the loan program for college students were sandwiched into a single piece of legislation -- the budget reconciliation bill approved last week by the House and Senate.” (Christi Parsons & Janet Hook, “Obama Signs Reconciliation Bill With Major Student Loan Change,” Los Angeles Times, 3/31/10)

NOW HE’S BACK TO RAISE CAMPAIGN CASH

Obama Will Attend Fundraiser For Democratic National Committee In Boston On Thursday. (“President Obama to visit Portland Expo,” The Associated Press, 3/30/10)

• Boston Stop Comes After “Campaign-Style” Event In  Portland To Sell Health Care. “People who want to see President Barack Obama at the Portland Expo will have to join a queue that could be quite long. … The rally is part of Obama’s effort to sell his health care overhaul at campaign-style events.” (“President Obama to visit Portland Expo,” The Associated Press, 3/30/10)

BUT MASSACHUSETTS HAS NEW MESSAGE FOR OBAMA: YOUR BILL WILL COST US JOBS

Medical Device Tax Seen As “Death Blow For Start Ups” In Massachusetts. “Beginning in 2013, medical device manufacturers will pay a 2.3 percent excise tax on their revenues. ... Joe Metzger, senior vice president at Smith & Nephew, said his company is still analyzing the impact of the new tax. But, he said, it is difficult to see the logic of trying to control health expenses, as reform intends, while raising the cost of medical products. ...Metzger said that some in his industry are worried that the new tax will stifle innovation and kill off start-up companies, which often struggle with years of losses before reaching profitability. Under the reform law, those money-losing companies will still be hit with the tax on their sales. ‘It could be a death blow for start-ups or other entrepreneurial companies that decide they can’t afford the additional expense,’ he said.”  (Ken Johnson, “Government, Industry, Bracing For Impact Of Health Reform,” The Eagle-Tribune, 3/28/10)

Obama’s Government-Run Health Care Bill Will Burden Medical Device Makers With An Excise Tax. “Under the legislation signed by Obama, medical-device companies would be slapped with a sales tax of about 2.9 percent to raise about $2.2 billion a year to pay for the health-care overhaul. Under a companion ‘reconciliation’ bill now being debated in the Senate, the tax is set at 2.3 percent and would start Jan. 1, 2013.” (Jay Fitzgerald, “Beware The ‘Jobs Killer,’“ The Boston Herald, 3/25/10)

CFO Of Zoll Medical Corp. In Massachusetts Called The Bill “A Jobs Killer” That Would “Force” Them To Move Jobs Overseas. “‘This bill is a jobs killer,’ said Ernie Whiton, chief financial officer of Chelmsford’s Zoll Medical Corp., which employs about 650 people in Massachusetts. Many of those employees work in Zoll’s local manufacturing facility making heart defibrillators. ‘We could be forced to (move) manufacturing overseas if we can’t pass along these costs to our customers,’ said Whiton.” (Jay Fitzgerald, “Beware The ‘Jobs Killer,’“ The Boston Herald, 3/25/10)

• “The Medical Device Industry Is Huge In Massachusetts -- 225 Companies Employing About 50,000 People.” (Byron York, “Scott Brown: ‘It’s Me Against The Machine,’“ The Washington Examiner, 1/14/10)
  
  
• “‘They’re Beating Up On The Guys Doing The Best To Create Jobs,’ Said Tom Taylor, Chairman Of The Massachusetts Medical Devices Industry Council And Founder Of Roush Life Sciences.” (Jay Fitzgerald, “Beware The ‘Jobs Killer,’“ The Boston Herald, 3/25/10)