Orthopedic device industry rattled by proposed tax

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby, in partnership with USA Today, explores the impact health reform proposals could have on one part of the orthopedic device industry. "For much of the past decade, times have been good for the industry, with hefty profits from steadily rising sales of artificial hips and knees, bone screws and other devices worldwide. More than 700,000 hip and knee replacements are performed in the U.S. each year."And that number could double by 2016. "Yet the industry, succeeding even as some other U.S. manufacturing sectors are slumping, faces challenges: The recession has curbed demand for orthopedic devices worldwide as patients delay treatment, forcing layoffs at some companies. And a proposal that passed the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday would place up to $40 billion in new taxes on the medical-device industry in the next decade" (10/14). Read the full story.

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.