House Ways & Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) did not include repeal of the Affordable Car Act's (ACA) 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices in his revised tax reform bill, but he did recently say that his committee is working on “temporary, targeted relief” from several of the ACA’s taxes, including the medical device tax and the health insurance tax, that could move separately by the end of the year.

“There is support on our side of the aisle for full repeal of the job-killing and other excise taxes that increase health care costs for consumers that were included as part of Obamacare in order to pay for massive new entitlements,” Brady said in a Nov. 6 statement. “However, as the Ranking Member and Members on both sides of aisle know – we have been working with them over the past month to find a path forward. We are working on common-sense temporary and targeted relief from many of these taxes to be acted on in the House before the end of the year. As such, we will move to these important health policies separately and immediately after conclusion of our tax reform efforts,” Brady said.

The separate bill is expected to include relief from the medical device tax, the health insurance tax and the tax on over-the-counter medications, the repeal of which all have bipartisan champions.

Impact on General Dentistry: The AGD opposes the excise tax on medical devices in its current form and has continually pushed for its full repeal. To that end, on Nov. 14, the AGD sent a letter to Chairman Brady urging the Chairman to include a delay and/or full repeal of the medical device tax in any final health care tax relief legislation.