Senators push to repeal U.S. medical device tax; success unlikely

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday to repeal a tax on medical devices that is part of President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, although the proposal likely faces an uphill climb in Congress. The tax applies to a range of medical products – everything from bedpans and surgical tools to the expensive heart devices produced in the home states of the senators backing the repeal. It is among several new industry levies in Obama’s 2010 healthcare overhaul law, which aims to provide health insurance for millions of Americans who lack it. …