California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) and Congressman Scott Peters Announce Support for New Legislation to Repeal Medical Device Tax

WASHINGTON & SAN FRANCISCO & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the trade association representing California’s life sciences sector, joined with Congressman Scott Peters (D-San Diego) to issue the following statements announcing support for the reintroduction of the Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2019 (H.R. 2207), bipartisan legislation that fully repeals the 2.3% excise tax levied on medical device firms as part of the Affordable Care Act.

According to CLSA’s newly released 2019 California Life Sciences Industry Report, California is home to 1,848 medical device firms employing over 81,000 people – more firms and employees than any other state in the nation – making the impact of the tax on California particularly troublesome. Visit CLSA’s Digital Action Center to learn more about the tax.

Statement from CLSA President & CEO Mike Guerra

“California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) welcomes the introduction of legislation that once-and-for-all repeals the ill-conceived 2.3% medical device excise tax. Since its inception, this tax has only hindered investment in medical technology research and development in California and throughout the U.S. For many years, our trade association has consistently led the charge in educating the California Congressional delegation on the perils of this tax on innovation. With over 226 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, including 22 bipartisan members of California’s delegation in the House of Representatives, this bill has broad, bipartisan support. CLSA and our extensive statewide membership of biomedical innovators welcome the introduction of this device tax repeal legislation. We will continue to work diligently with our bipartisan California Congressional delegation until this tax is fully repealed.”

Statement from Congressman Scott Peters (D-San Diego), Member of House Energy & Commerce Committee:

“San Diego’s medical device industry fuels innovation in our burgeoning life sciences cluster, but the medical device tax prevents them from investing in their next venture. I’ve led the charge to repeal the medical device tax to eliminate this barrier and foster the development of new technology that will improve and save lives. That creates jobs in San Diego and brings more life-saving technology to patients. Thank you to California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) for their support of these entrepreneurs and everyone who depends on medical devices to maintain their quality of life.”

Visit CLSA’s Digital Action Center to contact your Member of Congress or to learn more about the tax.

• Learn More about the California life sciences sector
• View CLSA’s Legislative Action Center
• Watch CLSA’s Faces of California Biomedical Innovation Web Series
• View CLSA’s Advocacy Priorities
• View upcoming CLSA events
• Meet the CLSA Board of Directors

About California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the state’s largest and most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization. With offices in Sacramento, San Diego, South San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC, CLSA works closely with industry, government, academia and others to shape public policy, improve access to innovative technologies and grow California’s life sciences economy. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers throughout the Golden State. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged. Visit CLSA at www.califesciences.org, and follow us on Twitter @CALifeSciences, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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