Is the Medical Device Tax Justifiable? Revealing Report Shows Otherwise




Medsider: Learn from MedTech and HealthTech Experts show

Summary: Opinions abound when it comes to the 2.3% medical device tax. Most of them negative. But often times, many of these opinions are NOT backed by facts and data. For example, most medtech professionals would agree that even though more Americans will be insured through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this will not equate to a windfall for medical device companies. Solid opinion, right? But where’s the data to back this up? Enter Matt Dolan, Senior Research Analyst at ROTH Capital Partners. In a recent report, Matt lays out the following facts: The average age of a patient that receives a heart valve, cardiac stent, and knee implant is 70, 62, and 64, respectively. However, if you compare these ages to the group of uninsured that will become insured under ACA, a stark contrast exists. Eighty percent of uninsured patients are under 45 years old and 88% are under 55, well below the average device user. Only 2% of the uninsured are over 65 years old. In this interview, Matt Dolan provides us with interesting facts as to why the premise of the medical device tax may not be justified. Here's What You Will Learn - Impact of the medical device industry on the healthcare system and overall economy. - But aren’t expensive, innovative medical devices responsible for higher healthcare costs? - Why is the medtech industry already suffering? - Will medical device companies receive a windfall because more patients will be insured through the Affordable Care Act? - Real-world example of Massachusetts: Did medical device companies benefit from Romneycare? - Why smaller medtech companies will be impacted the most by the device tax. - The negative impact on medical device R&D and the potential consequences for patients. - Other potential ramifications of the device tax: job losses, decrease in hiring, and a greater emphasis on overseas expansion. - And much more! This Is What You Can Do Next 1) You can listen to the interview with Matt Dolan right now: Download audio file (MattDolan_MedsiderInterviews_2012.mp3) 2) You can also download the mp3 file of the interview by clicking here. Don't forget – you can listen to this interview and all of the other Medsider interviews via iTunes.  And if you get a chance, leave us an honest rating and review. 3) Read the following transcripts from my interview with Matt Dolan.  Also, feel free to download the transcripts by clicking here. Read the Interview with Matt Dolan Scott Nelson:    Hello, hello everyone.  It’s Scott Nelson, and welcome to another edition of Medsider, the program where you can learn from experience and proven medical device/med tech experts on your own terms without going to school. And on today’s call we have Matt Dolan, who is a senior research analyst for Roth Capital Partners. Matt’s been involved in covering the medical device industry for about 10 years. He's been with Roth Capital for about six years. His investment news has been cited in Barron’s, Investor’s Business Daily, Wall Street Transcript, Forbes, and Business Week in addition to a few others. So without further ado, welcome to the call Matt. Really appreciate you coming on the program. Matt Dolan:      Thanks, Scott. Scott Nelson:    Alright. So, on today’s call we’re going to cover the medical device tax. In particular, we’re going to focus on a really, really good report, which I’ll link to in the show notes, that Matt helped put together covering the medical device tax and its potential implications. So the three main kind of umbrella subjects that we’re going to talk about is, first and foremost, the impact of the med tech industry on the economy as well as the healthcare system overall, and then we’ll probably spend a little bit more time even talking about the other two points. Is the 2.3% medical device tax ...