Today should have been a day for celebration, as the US Senate passed the Healthcare bill. But two strands of it – the device tax and product registry seem aimed to make barriers for the deployment of personal healthcare.
I don’t think anybody would argue against the need for reducing the cost of healthcare. There are obviously many efficiencies that can be brought into the system, whatever and wherever that system may be. But most agree that increasing the individual’s focus on wellness is an important foundation to that cost reduction. To make that happen we need to make personal health devices cheaper and more accessible.
That’s where this bill betrays itself. Hidden amongst the headline grabbing stuff are two clauses that may well help to slow the speed at which these devices come to market – a tax on each and every device, and a proposal for the FDA or similar body to administer an Orwellian control over what comes to market, potentially stifling innovation. If this really is a bill for reforming healthcare, that’s a strange route to take.