Congressional critics of President Obama’s signature health care law have described it as a “train wreck” and a “nightmare” so dire that they are willing to shut down the government to stop it.
One way to avoid that, some members of the House of Representatives have said, is to repeal a part of the law that amounts to a sales tax on producers of medical devices.
The Senate rejected the proposal on Monday, but it could surface again.
At issue is a 2.3 percent fee on medical devices sold in the United States, like heart implants and artificial joints. The levy is supposed to generate about $30 billion over the next decade, according to government estimates, to be used to pay for the expansion of health care benefits under the new law.
Republicans and some Democrats, particularly from states like Minnesota and Massachusetts where medical device producers are based, have urged repeal of the tax. The dispute dates to 2009, when the legislation was being crafted…
