"I Will Cut Taxes for 95 Percent of Americans!" By Raising Them. Uhh Umm Uhh Yeah...

Here is a link to the health care bill passed by the house H.R.3962.EH.

Affordable Health Care for America Act (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by House)[H.R.3962.EH]

In this legislation there is an excise tax on "Medical Devices." Check out page 346.

page 346.

18 SEC. 552. EXCISE TAX ON MEDICAL DEVICES.
19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 31 of the Internal Rev-
20 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the
21 following new subchapter:
22 ‘‘Subchapter D—Medical Devices

page 347.

1 ‘‘SEC. 4061. MEDICAL DEVICES.
2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby imposed on the
3 first taxable sale of any medical device a tax equal to 2.5
4 percent of the price for which so sold.

page 348.

9 ‘‘(c) OTHER DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—
10 For purposes of this section—
11 ‘‘(1) MEDICAL DEVICE.—The term ‘medical de-
12 vice’ means any device (as defined in section 201(h)
13 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) in-
14 tended for humans.

Hmm just what is a medical device? Let's check "The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act."

SEC. 201. [21 U.S.C. 321]
CHAPTER II—DEFINITIONS 1

(h) The term "device" (except when used in paragraph (n) of this section and in sections 301(i), 403(f), 502(c), and 602(c)) means an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article, including any component, part, or accessory, which is--

(1) recognized in the official National Formulary, or the United States Pharmacopeia, or any supplement to them,

(2) intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, in man or other animals, or

(3) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals, and which does not achieve its primary intended purposes through chemical action within or on the body of man or other animals and which is not dependent upon being metabolized for the achievement of its primary intended purposes.

WOW, that tax covers just about everything doesn't it. When you hear the term "medical device," you think of hospital equipment right? This excise tax covers everything from toothbrushes, to tampons!

It should be apparent to most by now, if the Obama administration says anything, expect the exact opposite.

Remember the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) report? The house version of the health care bill is not going to achieve any of it's "said" purposes. The legislation will not make health care cheaper, and it will not expand insurance coverage to everyone. That being the case, why pass it? Why try and sell the American people legislation which is based on a false premise? Why push that legislation through at the last minute, before the American people (or members of the House) could read it? I thought this was supposed to be good for America. If that were the case what's the rush? Most of the benefits wouldn't be available until five years from the date the bill becomes law.

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