Some Houston companies may be holding their breath after the Senate voted last week to repeal the 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices.
The medical device tax went into effect in January and has already cost companies $388 million, according to the Medical Device Manufacturers Association.
While Houston may not be a med device powerhouse, some local business owners have expressed concern over the tax.
Aggredyne CEO Edward Teitel told me in January the tax would have an impact on his small company. Houston-based Aggredryne manufactures a device used to measure the “stickiness” of blood platelets in patients taking medication that is supposed to thin the blood.
“The tax rate will limit our rate of growth,” Teitel previously said. “We happen to be a startup in an early phase where we have to grow regardless, but the tax — along with other things like hurdles from the FDA — will certainly limit that rate. Yes, we’re going to grow in spite of it, but we would grow even more without it.”
Teitel and others like him may take the recent developments and bipartisan support in the Senate as a good sign for medical device makers. The vote isn’t binding, however, the Business Journals Washington Bureau reports. It came on an amendment to the Senate’s budget resolution, which is a framework for future policy.