Dr. Thomas GarrisonThe Senate is working on passing a new healthcare financing bill that would place a 5% tax increase on all elective cosmetic procedures. The obvious rationale for this type of tax is that cosmetic procedures like liposuction, Botox injections, tummy-tucks and breast implants are in high demand and not medically indicated. It is an industry that up until this current economic downturn had been growing by double digit numbers each year. That’s a lot of revenue that could go toward supporting the Senate’s healthcare overhaul, but at what cost?
The cosmetic surgery industry is a clear target due to the large volume of business that it conducts each year, but there are many issues that we as experts fear the senators are not taking into account with their proposition.
In its recent press release, the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) stated that it is against the tax. Several other organizations like the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, along with the AACS, have provided interesting insights about the full impact such a tax would have on individuals and the economy.
Here is a highlight of some of the collateral damage that we believe this type of bill can have:
• There is a large blurry area between procedures that are considered medically-necessary and those that are elective. The infrastructure that would need to exist to administer such a tax program that can make this distinction could quite easily cost more in running than the revenue it generates.
• The current condition of the industry is such that physicians already face many challenges in operating their practices on a day-to-day basis. Economic growth has subsided and introducing this tax puts the industry at risk of losing highly skilled physicians and placing an even greater strain on day to day operations.
• The median income for those electing to have cosmetic surgery is dropping. One study shows that 1/3 of people who had a cosmetic procedure done in 2005 earned less than $30,000 a year. This is not just a tax on the wealthy.
• Our largest group of patients is working women, who would be unfairly targeted by such taxes.
• Recent studies have shown that attractive people get paid 10% to 20% more, on average, than their less attractive counterparts. If the services we provide can help people feel better, look better, and get higher paying jobs, why impede that?
Not only are the professional organizations and the physicians that work with them against this type of tax, but so are the tens of millions of people a year who decide to have some elective cosmetic procedure done.
This tax begs the question of what will they tax next: Viagra, weight-loss surgery, circumcisions, removal of skin tags, treatment for hair loss..?
Here at Sono Bello we believe we are providing services that help people change their lives for the better. We start people on a road to a healthier and more productive existence that only contributes to the wellbeing of the greater communities we operate in.
We believe that our patients’ decisions to have our laser body contouring procedures done to help them look and feel better is a private and personal decision that should not be impeded by high taxation. There are many options for funding our healthcare overhaul in this country, and taxing elective cosmetic procedures is not one that is sustainable.
Dr. Thomas Garrison, MD
Sono Bello Chief Medical Officer
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