Dan Coats: “Thank you, Mr. President. These medical device manufacturers are employing people at an average rate of about 41 percent…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. These medical device manufacturers are employing people at an average rate of about 41 percent greater than the average worker rate of pay in my State, so these are desired jobs. But, again, employers and manufacturers of medical devices are telling me they are being forced to go overseas because of the burden of regulation and a tax that has nothing to do with the essential program of the health care plan. That is not the only tax that is imposed in this law. There are many hidden taxes here that we are just learning about. Let me name five: the excise tax on charitable hospitals; the drug industry tax, separate from medical devices; the health insurance industry tax; the insurer excise tax; and a Blue Cross-Blue Shield tax hike. The Joint Committee on Taxation found that the health care law imposes more than $550 billion in new taxes and penalties, most of which will fall on the middle class. Third, the impact on the State of Indiana. ObamaCare forces States to expand Medicaid rolls so significantly that it will be imposed--and this has been talked about earlier today-- upon the States in a way that can cripple their ability to try to find some balance in their budgets. In Indiana, where our budget is in far better shape than many other States, we still cannot afford the current Medicaid Program, let alone the projected new costs that will be required under the ObamaCare law.…”