Gwen Graham Breaks With Democrats to Repeal Obamacare Medical Device Tax

U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Fla., broke with the White House and her party on Thursday when she voted to repeal the 2.3 percent tax on medical devices set up by President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law. The repeal passed 280-140 and Graham was a co-sponsor of the measure. 

 
“Our country can’t afford to stifle medical innovation with new taxes, nor can North Florida patients afford to pay more for health-care,” Graham said on Thursday. “I’m proud to support this legislation which will spur innovation and lower the cost of health-care for North Florida families and seniors.
 
“I’m for keeping the good and fixing the bad parts of Obamacare,” Graham added. “We all agree we need to keep insurance companies from discriminating against people, and we need to continue to work on lowering costs, but taxing lifesaving medical devices is more harmful than helpful for patients in North Florida. This legislation will fix that problem without repealing the good parts of health-care reform.”