Congressman Gerlach (R‐Pa) To Meet With Employees At Premier

Plymouth Meeting, PA – January 25, 2011 – One of the funding mechanisms buried in the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Bill of 2010” is a 2.3% excise tax on Medical Devices.
Ostensibly, this tax was added to the bill to help fund expanded Medicaid coverage, including universal dental coverage, for a projected 18 million individuals (including six million children) nationwide. That universal dental coverage did not make it into the final version of the bill, however the tax did.
Looking at oral health care for this group of six million children (according to government and industry projections) ‐‐ the bill would result in approximately $330 million in incremental dental services ‐‐ of which, an estimated $20 million would be spent on dental products. However ultimately, this excise tax would have a severe financial impact on the dental products industry – an annual total of $159 million in additional taxes nationwide.
“This tax puts a massive new tax burden upon the 2,000 companies in the U.S. that manufacture and supply products and services to oral health professionals,” said Julie Charlestein, President of Premier® Dental Products. “The tax is wildly disproportionate compared to the services rendered for this at‐risk population.”
In response to this potential threat to the financial future of many manufacturers as well as the negative impact this legislation will have on jobs across the country at companies like Premier Dental right here in Pennsylvania, Premier employees recently undertook a grass roots letter writing campaign to raise awareness of this issue.
Premier staffers sent personal correspondence to Congressman Jim Gerlach (R‐PA), explaining the potential damage this legislation could do to their company and the dental products industry as a whole. Congressman Gerlach, a Chester County Republican, earned a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee in December and was appointed to the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee in January.
 “I am extremely concerned that imposing an immense new tax on both medical and dental device manufacturers will jeopardize more than 20,000 jobs in Pennsylvania’s thriving biotechnology and life‐sciences sectors," Gerlach said.
"This new tax will dampen investment and innovation of products that improve patient care. That’s why I am committed to working with my House colleagues to repeal this tax to ensure that Pennsylvania companies, including Premier Dental, remain competitive in global markets.”
Congressman Gerlach will be holding an informational meeting with employees and leadership of Premier Dental Products Company on Thursday, February 3rd at 1 p.m. The congressman hopes to learn more about the issue so he can be prepared to help repeal this component of the bill.
This meeting is not open to the public, but will be open to media participation and attendance.
About Premier®
Premier® Dental Products Company is a Philadelphia‐based, fourth generation, family owned company dedicated to developing, manufacturing and distributing innovative products to health providers around the globe through a worldwide network of dealers. For more information on Premier, visitwww.premusa.com