This devastation is the face of the new health insurance law in this country. When the 1,800 employees of Zoll Medical Corporation start losing their jobs, it will be crystal clear who they can thank for their misery. From Byron York’s column about Zoll comes this information about the impact of the new medical devices tax: Zoll’s 2009 profit was $9.5 million. Mr. Obama’s new tax on this firm — which makes life-saving heart defibrillators — will slice that profit by at least half. Result:

The company’s first option is to pass the increase on to customers like hospitals and ambulance companies. That might or might not work, given that they are coming under increasing pressure to cut their own costs.

The next option is to cut research and development — a short-term, money-saving move that will surely cost Zoll down the road. And a third option, says Packer, is to “look at trying to shift jobs to lower-cost places around the world.” That would be bad news for Massachusetts and the USA.

Wake up, America.