Affordable Care Act: Impacting America’s Leadership? At the Medical Device Conference 2012(MedCon), held at Xavier University, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kem Hawkins, President and CEO of Cook Incorporated and Cook Medical, delivered a powerful keynote address. In his speech, Hawkins proposed that FDA has not demonstrated the leadership necessary for the United States to maintain its position as global forerunner in the healthcare arena. Hawkins also touched on his opposition to the medical device tax included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).