Wellington, Oct 5 NZPA - Fisher and Paykel Healthcare Ltd is monitoring United States healthcare reforms but says it is too early to say how they will affect the medical device maker.

Macquarie Securities analyst Stephen Ridgewell noted in a report that Max Baucus, chairman of the US Senate finance committee, had introduced a healthcare reform bill that proposed a new excise tax on medical devices to be paid by manufacturers.

The tax could raise $US4 billion ($NZ5.63 billion).

Macquarie said this was about 3 percent of annual sales of the medical device industry in the US.

If Fisher and Paykel Healthcare could not pass on the tax its net profit after tax in the US could fall by 21 percent. About 40 percent of the company's sales are in the US.

The report noted the bill was only one of five being considered and there was political horse trading to occur.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare chief executive Mike Daniell said the company was monitoring the bill.

"There have been a number of proposals from the Obama administration regarding healthcare reform in the US, and this is one of them," he said.

If a tax went ahead its impact on the company would depend on the ability to pass the tax on in pricing.

"We are waiting to see whether there will be any controls on that should it pass," he said.

On the other hand, the company saw positives from the US healthcare reform because the administration was talking about increasing coverage.

"They are also looking for efficiencies in healthcare and that is really the whole thrust of what we do.

"We sell specific devices with technology whose whole object is to improve outcomes, and improve care and reduce the hospital stay."

The company was relatively comfortable with the concept of the reforms.

"We will just have to wait and see what this tax means if it does occur," he said.

Any tax would apply to competitors, he said.

"You do wonder how a tax proposal is going to reduce the cost of healthcare though," he said.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare is a world leader in the design and manufacturer of heated humidification devices used in respiratory care and in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.