House votes—again—to repeal PPACA tax on medical devices

See also: Senate Dems vote to repeal part of PPACA

The Obama administration has remained opposed to repealing the tax, partly because of the deficit effect and partly because of the initial rationale for its passage.

"The medical device industry, like others, will benefit from millions of new consumers who are gaining health coverage under the Affordable Care Act," the administration wrote in its veto threat. "This excise tax is one of several designed so that industries that gain from the coverage expansion will help offset the cost of that expansion."

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has questioned whether the tax is as damaging as the industry maintains. The effects will fall on consumers, researchers say, and the reduction in jobs and output for the companies is probably 0.2 percent at most.

"With relatively small effects on the U.S. medical device industry, it is unlikely that there will be significant consequences for innovation and for small and midsized firms," CRS wrote earlier this year.

The bill is H.R. 160.

House members agreed Wednesday by voice vote to approve several other measures considered using a "suspense calendar," or an accelerated system for handling bills believed to be nontroversial. The House approved H.R. 2570, a bill that would create a Medicare value-based insurance design (VBID) test program; H.R. 2570, a bill that would postpone use of the Medicare Advantage five-star quality rating system to exclude plans from the program; and H.R. 2505, a bill that would require annual reporting on Medicare Advantage enrollment by ZIP code, district and state.

Today, House members agreed to pass H.R. 1190, a bill that would eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board, by a voice vote. Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., asked for a count of the ayes and nayes, and House leaders put off organizing a recorded vote on the measure until a later time.