I found this to be very interesting to be able to view the website and see the list. Being I write about a lot of Health IT here and with the huge profits made by Cerner, it somewhat surprised me to see them on the list. As we all know Cerner is one of the largest software suppliers of electronic medical records and has been around for a long time and has been noted in recent times with making record profits.
Cerner has a page under their “store section” dedicated to the “Smart Room” which uses a lot of different software and hardware devices for an example and takes advantage of their CareAware technologies.
In order for software to work, you need hardware so it may not be just a simple trail always going back to a manufacturer it seems? Below is the list as it shows today. So how does this work and I think it could open up some new areas of discussion along the line here. Does a hospital buying a bundled Health IT system that includes medical records know they are paying for the device tax and is it separately disclosed? We know Cerner is not manufacturing all the devices they would sell to compliment the Health IT portion so is is individually by contract with the device company? Also, this list is new and are other EHR companies doing the same? The site also has an embedded copy of a letter from Stradis Healthcare whereby they announced their intention to impose the 2.3% device tax as a separate item on their invoices.
“The following medical device suppliers are shifting the burden of the medical device excise tax (MDET) directly to American hospitals and other healthcare providers:
Acuderm
AMX Solutions
Anatech Ltd
Avinger
Berkeley Advanced Biomaterials
Burlington Medical Supplies, Inc.
CIRS (Compuerized Imaging Reference Systems, Inc.)
Cardica
Cerner
DR Systems, Inc.
Electro-Cap International
Encompas, Unlimited
FHC
Fine Surgical Instruments, Inc.
Fujirebio
General Devices
Good Lite
Gynex
Hans Rudolph
Hobbs Medical Inc.
Hurricane Medical
I.C. Medical , Inc.
Implantech
International Medical Industries, Inc.
Luminex
Mastel
Medical Z
Misonix
Rhein Medical, Inc.
Sientra
Skeletal Dynamics, LLC
Spineview
STAAR Surgical
Stradis Healthcare
Technical Prospects, LLC
Tenacore
Thompson Surgical Instruments
Tosoh Bioscience, Inc.
Unipower
Waters Corp
Disclaimer: Please note that many companies have similar names. The list includes only the actual name of the companies which meet the described criteria. The fact that a vendor has a similar name does not mean that the vendor is or should be included on the list.”
Again I will refer to my year long campaign that I sent off to the device lobbyists, companies and others about pursuing taxing and licensing data sellers to give an alternative route of revenue to help support Healthcare and being that it is an intangible huge amount of profiteering, not many could get their heads around it, while companies and banks put billions away in profits here, and a lot of it is healthcare data that is sold that does not fall under HIPAA. It’s that old digital literacy issue again and not understanding or trying to make an effort to understand how all of this works and the IRS seemed to be too busy chasing the non profit GOP factions out there to pay much attention here. This would make an excellent area to use excise taxing to help support Healthcare reform instead of continuing to pad the pockets of banks and companies, and some of them use data out of context against consumers, instead of all the time wasted in front of Congress just crying about cuts. Even the NIH could not exercise themselves about that level either, so again we have a huge education war here on how models and algorithms turn profits and how it ends up playing out in the real world.
Medical Device Companies Not Putting Up a Real Smart Battle to Reverse Device Taxes–Need to Offer Alternative Solutions for Missed Revenue, Taxing & Licensing Data Sellers Would Do It
In today’s world of automation and algorithmic formulas that make money, I think if you want to get rid of the tax, you should definitely bring another suggested solution to the table and nobody seems to be able to grasp this concept sadly. In summary how will this tax all play out through out healthcare and what new laws will be proposed to circumvent some of this? They will fail as we have not take any effort to establish who the data sellers are and what kind of data they sell and to who. In the meantime, watch the nonsense here with more complexities added on who eventually pays the excise tax..a sad state of affairs here with trying to find a resolution with nobody bringing another plan to the table. BD
Cook Medical Cancels Plans for Factory Expansions–We Need Companies That Create Tangible Products As They Create Jobs–Tax The Data Sellers/Brokers Who Make Billions With Data Mining “Killer Algorithms” And Give the Device Companies a Break
Although the Healthcare Supply Chain Association did not take a position on the medical device tax at the time — nor do we take a position today — the HSCA joined the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals and the Catholic Health Association in urging the IRS not to allow medical device manufacturers to pass on the cost of the device tax to hospitals.
Unfortunately, the IRS did not respond directly to our comments at the time, and today maintains that it does not have the authority to police companies that pass on the device tax.
Hospitals are now reporting that, although some suppliers are behaving responsibly, other device manufacturers are billing hospitals directly to cover the costs associated with the medical device excise tax. Although there are more than 40 taxes found in the ACA, hospitals and other healthcare providers report that medical device suppliers are the only parties indicating that they plan to pass the tax on to their customers. That is not right.
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