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The medical device tax is an excise tax on the companies that produce the devices. They can absorb the cost by increasing their prices directly or have it reflected on the bills much like the phone companies itemize the various taxes they pass on. The hospitals, doctors, and medical supply companies would likely then pass the cost on to the patient. The reprogramming would be a minimal one-time expense whereas the recordkeeping, reporting, and collecting of the tax is an ongoing expense. Regardless, it is a new cost that will obviously trickle down to the consumer in one form or another.

Here is an article Medical Device Firms Cry Foul that has some quotes from various medical device companies. It certainly will raise prices and cost jobs. Here is an interestng quote from that article.

Ernie Whiton, ZOLL's chief financial officer, said his company anticipates being hit with a $7.5 million tax bill under health-care reform. More than 80 percent of the company's revenue comes from device sales.

"We do not anticipate any significant benefit from health reform to our sales, so the tax will be a direct hit to our bottom line -- unless we pass it on to our customers, and that's our intent," Whiton said. "If we are successful in that, it will essentially drive up the cost of health care. If we're not successful, we're going to have to look at doing other things, cutting research and development and moving our manufacturing jobs overseas."