Now that the Supreme Court has essentially upheld the Affordable Care Act, that means one really important thing to medical device companies: a 2.3 percent excise tax on device sales included in the bill will still take effect next year.

In a lighting-fast reaction to the news of the ACA's survival, Stephen Ubl, CEO of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, the device manufacturers trade lobby, issued a statement, saying his group would continue to work to squash the tax, which will raise nearly $29 billion over the next decade to help offset the costs of reform.

"AdvaMed supported goals of health care reform consistent with our long-held principles," Ubl said in the statement. But he said his group has opposed the excise tax because of "its damaging effects on economic competitiveness, jobs and the research and development needed to find tomorrow's treatments and cures."
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives, which Republicans control, voted to repeal the tax, but at the time the Senate, led by Democrats, said it wouldn't vote on the legislation. However, Ubl said in the news release that he was "heartened by the number of senators who have said they oppose the tax."

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