As Obamacare Batters Device Makers, Lobby Snuggles With Hillary Clinton In Chicago
Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic party’s nomination for President in 2016, is giving a speech at this week’s annual meeting of the powerful Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, in her hometown as the lobby prepares to derail a tax key to funding the Affordable Care Act.
The former U.S. Secretary of State, who has yet to officially declare her presidential candidacy, is also in Chicago to campaign for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, who is in a tight race with billionaire Republican Bruce Rauner as the incumbent gains momentum here. During her visit, which has been kept under wraps until this week, Clinton has been given a prime spot during the three-day AdvaMed event, delivering a keynote at Wednesday’s midday plenary session at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
Clinton’s appearance comes during a period of anxiety for the medical device industry, which has failed thus far to derail or mitigate the impact of a tax on sales of medical devices. AdvaMed includes some of the biggest names in the industry such as Johnson & Johnson JNJ -2.36% (JNJ), Medtronic MDT -1.48% (MDT), Stryker SYK -1.51% (SYK), 3M MMM -1.9% (MMM) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT).
Sources close to AdvaMed don’t expect Clinton to come out in favor of eliminating the medical device tax, but her appearance before the group is a key indicator the powerful industry is ready to spend money to derail the tax in the near future and build key bipartisan coalitions. AdvaMed wouldn’t disclose what the group is paying Clinton for her speech.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2014/10/07/as-obamacare-batters-device-makers-lobby-snuggles-with-hillary-in-chicago/
