Quality Tech Services, Inc. (QTS), a provider of medical device assembly, packaging and sterilization services, welcomed Congressman Erik Paulsen on Thursday February 23rd, 2012, to their facility in Bloomington, Minnesota. Congressman Paulsen has been very involved in supporting the medical device community in Minnesota and also on a national level. He has advocated for legislature to support medical devices companies in acquiring the funding and approval necessary to get their devices to market. The Congressman toured the QTS facility and met with key QTS staff members to speak about his involvement and the progress of these critical issues for the medical device industry within the legislature.
Minnesota is home to over 400 medical technology companies. There are many challenges facing the medical device industry and concerns with proposed legislation impacting American patients’ access to the newest and best medical technology. There have been expressed concerns of companies introducing their products overseas, as they are able to get these devices to market much faster, as much as 2 years sooner, than in the USA. The rate of venture capital available for medical technology is continuing to diminish, and there are many concerns over the newly proposed 2.3% medical device tax included in the President’s healthcare law. This will stifle medical device companies’ ability of getting their devices to market, and potentially passing this raised cost onto the health care provider and thus the patients. While other countries are actively recruiting and incentivizing medical technology companies to locate their manufacturing and do research within their borders, our own government is making it increasingly difficult and expensive to innovate and create new medical technology business here in the United States.
QTS serves many medical device companies in Minnesota and nation-wide, and thanks Congressman Erik Paulsen for his legislative support of our industry.
Read the full press release here.