The Washington Post and Bloomberg reported that during an interview with Bloomberg News at RSNA 2012 in Chicago, GE Healthcare CEO John Dineen said the half a trillion dollars in tax hikes and spending cuts scheduled to take effect in January have put the brakes on equipment spending. Medical equipment sales have been "stalled" by worries over the so-called fiscal cliff, according to GE Healthcare's chief.

According to the report, GE Healthcare’s third-quarter sales fell 2% after inching up 1% in the previous quarter.

"It's impossible to make an investment if you're a hospital or hospital system, if you don't know what the financial rules are going to be," he told the magazine.