Device sector resigned to U.S. reform taxes

Michael Mussallem, chairman and chief executive officer of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, speaks at the Reuters Health Summit in New York, November 11, 2009.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The medical device industry accepts that a tax on the sector is needed to help fund U.S. health reform, but hopes the final price tag will be less than the $40 billion the Senate is proposing, Edwards Lifesciences (EW.N) Corp (EW.N) Chief Executive Michael Mussallem said.

Mussallem is chairman of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, or AdvaMed, which represents the device industry.

"We're not huge fans of it, but I think at this point we very much believe that this is something that we need to do that's our contribution to healthcare reform to help pay for this big bill," Mussallem said, speaking Wednesday at the Reuters Health Summit in New York.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Susan Kelly, editing by Lisa Von Ahn)