Research Briefing

ObamaCare’s Attack On Innovation And Middle-Class Americans

CEO Of Delcath Systems In Queensbury, NY Said Tax Is “Very, Very Short-Sighted,” Won’t Be Good For Medical Research And Development. “Delcath Systems Inc., which plans to employ about 30 people at a new manufacturing facility in Queensbury by the end of the year, could be one of the first victims. ‘So, they’re losing money, and it just didn’t make sense to say, “We’re going to increase your losses by charging you a revenue tax while you’re struggling to profitability,”‘ [CEO Eamonn] Hobbs said. ‘It’s not going to be good for R-and-D; it’s not going to be good for jobs, and it’s very, very short-sighted.’” (Scott Donnelly, “Tax Looms For Medical Device Firms,” Glens Falls Post-Star, 4/16/10)

• Hobbs Also Added ObamaCare Will “Stunt Innovation” Because Tax On Medical Devices Will Be “Particularly Damaging” To Small Companies And “Eighty-Percent-Plus Of The Innovations Come From Small Companies.” “Eamonn Hobbs, Delcath’s CEO, said an across-the-board tax on revenue with no consideration for a company’s size could be particularly damaging to firms like his, which have yet to post their first profit. … Hobbs said stifling the success of smaller companies will also stunt innovation, as the medical device industry norm is for large companies to grow by buying and then marketing the inventions of smaller firms. ‘Eighty-percent-plus of the innovations come from small companies - companies with less than 50 employees,’ said Hobbs, who also founded AngioDynamics.” (Scott Donnelly, “Tax Looms For Medical Device Firms,” Glens Falls Post-Star, 4/16/10)

CEO Of AngioDynamics In Latham, NY Said ObamaCare’s Medical Device Tax Will “Put Pressure On All Spending Areas Of The Company.” “‘We have not crunched the numbers, but it’s going to put pressure on all spending areas of the company,’ said Jan Keltjens, president and CEO of AngioDynamics, which is based in Latham but employs about 300 at its facility in Queensbury.” (Scott Donnelly, “Tax Looms For Medical Device Firms,” Glens Falls Post-Star, 4/16/10)

VP Of Medical Device Firm In New Jersey Says ObamaCare’s Taxes Will “Impact All Of Our Domestic Products That We Sell.” “Scott Lowry, vice president and treasurer of C.R. Bard, agreed that, while the predicted benefits are in doubt, the cost of the tax is not. … ‘I think what is clear to us is that the tax is real, and it’s likely to impact all of our domestic product that we sell.’ Bard, a medical device maker based in Murray Hill, N.J., employed about 900 at its Queensbury facility at last report.” (Scott Donnelly, “Tax Looms For Medical Device Firms,” Glens Falls Post-Star, 4/16/10)

Owner Of Pure Tan In Spearfish, SD Says ObamaCare’s Tanning Tax Is “A Tax On Middle Class Women.” “Sarah Dittman, owner of Pure Tan salon in Spearfish, disagrees with the tax. ‘We’re an easy target,’ she said about her industry. … Dittman said it will affect female ownership as well. ‘For me it’s a tax on middle class women, which is pretty targeting. A lot of salons are woman-owned small businesses.’” (Kevin Norton, “Local Tanning Salons Take On Extra Heat,” The Black Hills Pioneer, 4/15/10)

CEO Of Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Louisiana: “The Title Of The Act Is, At Best, Only Partially Accurate. While Its Intent Might Have Been To Offer Some Forms Of Patient Protection, It Does Nothing To Address Affordable Care.” (Mike Reitz, Op-Ed, “Health-Reform Law Doesn’t Lower Costs,” The Daily Advertiser, 4/16/10)

•  Reitz Says Costs Will Increase On Services, Prescription Drugs And Medical Technology. “And what drives up health-care cost? Uwe Reinhardt, a Princeton economist and the dean of health-care analysts, puts it this way: ‘What drives prices is the amount of services people are getting, plus the prices doctors and hospitals charge for these services.’ Reinhardt is simplifying but only slightly. He left out the rising cost of pharmaceutical products and the ever-increasing cost of medical technology.” (Mike Reitz, Op-Ed, “Health-Reform Law Doesn’t Lower Costs,” The Daily Advertiser, 4/16/10)