However, it seems to be a tax on producers, not on patients. In any case, the devices are provided to veterans as part of covered health care and veterans would not have to pay it.
Medical device manufacturers are all howling they're going to leave the country, of course.
The closest thing I could find to a mainstream source for this is the Boston Herald, yuck yuck yuck.
Another site offers this: "While we are not in support of efforts to tax medical devices, we were relieved to note that legislation adopted by the full Senate excludes medical devices from the fee based on their FDA classification. Class I devices (including hearing aids) are exempted along with Class II devices that retail for under $100. The House legislation, however, bases exemptions on where the device is sold. Retail sales are exempted, although the definition of “retail” is unclear. It is near certain, however, that hearing aids would not be exempted under the House proposal."
http://www.deafhh.net/wp/2010/03/19/hearing-aids-and-medical-device-tax-proposals-update/A discussion of medical classification is at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_deviceThis looks like a typical right wing tempest in a teapot, the tax aimed more at less effective and more expensive devices as well as quack devices. It's an attempt to drive the least effective devices out of the marketplace.
The retail exemption, again, states that patients will not have to pay this cost.
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