Dear Representatives:

On behalf of more than two million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I urge you to support H. R. 436, repealing the excise tax on medical devices and expanding the use of health savings accounts. If lawmakers are serious about making health care more affordable for Americans, then they need to take sensible steps like repealing onerous laws that drive up costs and removing restrictions on consumers’ payment options.

I urge you to vote YES on H.R. 436, repealing the medical device excise tax and expanding health savings accounts. Americans for Prosperity will include this vote in our congressional ratings.

The President’s health care law was supposed to cut the cost of health care in the United States, but many of its provisions will do the exact opposite. The law’s 2.3% excise tax on medical device sales is one prominent example. Patients will ultimately bear the burden of this tax in the form of higher medical costs and lower levels of care. The tax will also slow the pace of investment and innovation in life-saving medical technology, and encourage device manufacturers to move production overseas. H.R. 436 repeals this ill-conceived tax.

Expanding the use of health savings accounts will increase Americans’ options when paying for their health care. H.R. 436 does this in two ways. First, it lets individuals buy over-the-counter medications with funds from their health savings accounts—an option the President’s health care law has senselessly prohibited since 2011. Second, it repeals the current requirement that individuals forfeit all the money left in their flexible spending accounts at the end of the year; instead H.R. 436 lets them take out that money as taxable income. Both provisions give health care consumers more options and flexibility when making decisions on paying for care.

I urge you to vote YES on H.R. 436, repealing the medical device excise tax and expanding health savings accounts. Americans for Prosperity will include this vote in our congressional ratings.

Sincerely,

James Valvo
Director of Policy
Americans for Prosperity