Medical Devise Excise Tax

In an article from the Washington Post (November 18, 2012) by Jordan Raw it was reported that begining January 2013 the Medical Devise Excise Tax will kick in.  It is a 2.3% tax on all medical devises.  But there are still many unresolved issues that need to be addressed.  The first and biggest issue is what gets taxed and how that tax is applied and collected.  An example of what is in front of the board working on the ACA would be latex gloves.  At what point  does the tax get applied.  Is it from the first sale - manufacturer to wholesaler?  Or is it from the point of last sale - a person purchases a box from Rite Aid.  Another example would be taxes on kits that doctors and hospitals use.  Would those kits be taxed on the parts purchased for the kits or at the point of sale?  In addition to those questions the board needs to figure out who gets taxed for instruments that have uses outside of the medical profession.  Do veterinarians and dentist get taxed on medical devises that doctors use.  That was not the intent of the law, but how do you enforce it? 

In other news, if you are a business looking at carrier options in Southern California Kaiser Permanete is offering a special on locked in rates for 15 months.  If you would like more information on that or any other health or life related issues you can reach Lisa Boyajian or Angela Gambino at (714)680-5900 or find us on the web at www.ansainsuranceservices.com .