[Sopater]

With all due respect Mr. President, you're going the wrong way.

[VeniVidiVici]

Others deny that the tax is the sole cause of their moves, saying it's a factor but not determinative.

Right. I'm sure the demand for medical devices is declining.

[GlockThe Vote]

I hate Obama beyond words. L

[GreyFriar]

We definitely need to re-elect BH0 so that we can apply to countries we’ve given foreign aid to return the money because the great leader needs it.

[Red Badger]

Obamacare is working!!!!!!!..........

[okie01]

Several of the med-tech companies that are scrapping jobs say the 2.3% medical device excise tax in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...

Democrats told us the primary purpose of the vaunted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was to reduce the cost of healthcare.

Imposing new taxes on medical devices is certainly an odd way of reducing costs, however.

[Average Al]

So where are the jobs going China?

[EGPWS]

Medical device companies are molting at a reptilian rate, shedding more than 2,000 jobs over the past 2 months as they look to slash costs across the board.

They are just preparing for the onslaught of the "medical care for all" that is coming just around the corner.

It's good to see that someone in the industry is preparing for the hoards of people that will "cash in" on their free health care.

[pallis]

Let’s not Obamanos.

[Dysart]

I know many people now jobless in this industry as a result of this and tandem taxes and edicts all traceable to the Abominable Care Act. So yes, MD mcfgs are affected as are those downstream.

Companies who purchase their products either for resale or for use in their facilities have the tax passed on to them in the form of higher device prices, and ultimately those end users or beneficiaries have these incremental costs passed along to them.

Sizable segments of the industry won't be able to absorb the hit and therefore be unable to sustain their former full employment levels due to decreased demand. This can, and almost certainly will, cascade into higher insurance premiums across the board for consumers/patients as costs are distributed among third party payors' subscriber base. Of course, higher copays are implied.

Also, to the extent these costs cannot or do not pass directly though, expect to see stepped up rationing; a different kind of cost.

Bottom line is these taxes don't exist in a vacuum (without consequences) unless you're referring to the academics/bureaucrats' minds who dreamed up this scheme.

[bgill]

2,000 is just a number. To understand the whole picture, what is that in percentages? Were the employees laid off or were these jobs merely not rehired to tighten the bottom line?