Tulsa World: Health bill would tax cosmetic surgery

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Health bill would tax cosmetic surgery

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS Associated Press
Published: 11/20/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 11/20/2009 6:20 AM

WASHINGTON — They call it the "Botax."

The White House and Senate Democrats have turned to a proposal to tax breast implants, tummy tucks, wrinkle-smoothing injections and other procedures as they search for ways to pay for costly health care overhaul plans.

Vanity was an easy target as lawmakers scraped for cash for the nearly $1 trillion plan to expand health care to millions of Americans who lack insurance. But it's no joke to the drug makers and people who perform the cosmetic nips and tucks. And they're fighting back.

Skin-smoothing Botox injections could be hard-hit. About 4.7 million were given last year at an average cost per visit of about $400, some including several injections.

"It is a random hit on an easy target that is only punitive and not corrective," said Caroline Van Hove, a spokeswoman for Allergan Inc., the maker of Botox Cosmetic. "The bottom line is that taxing cosmetic procedures is unnecessarily punitive on people who have merely decided to enhance their appearance."

At issue is a proposal in the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion health care draft unveiled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that would slap a 5 percent excise tax on elective cosmetic surgeries and procedures. The plan, projected to raise $6 billion, wouldn't apply to surgery to fix a deformity or injury, but would include procedures such as face-lifts, liposuction, cosmetic implants or teeth-whitening.

The plastic surgeons may have seemed like an appealing bunch to pick on given that they had already been skeptical of the Democrats' overhaul proposal. But they say it will be a blow to countless women — of every income level.

"The common misconception is that this is going to tax wealthy, suburban Republican women," said Dr. Phil Haeck of Seattle, the president-elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. In fact, he said, of the 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients who are female, 60 percent have incomes between $30,000 and $90,000.

In addition, he said, the tax would be especially hurtful in tough economic times that have prompted many newly jobless women to look for ways to make themselves more marketable to prospective employers. "They're competing with people 10 to 15 years younger than them and they want to look better," he said.

Accounts vary on who dreamed up the Botax. It came out of a late-July meeting on health care that included Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the Finance Committee chairman, and Peter Orszag, Obama's budget director, although neither man's staff acknowledges having hatched the scheme.

Reid revived it simply because "we needed money to make the bill work," his spokesman Jim Manley said.

Now that it's in the Senate bill, plastic surgeons and the cosmetic products industry are dusting off their arguments against it. Opponents cite as a cautionary tale a similar 6 percent tax in New Jersey. Haeck contends that tax has cost the state $3.39 for every $1 collected.

Whatever money would be raised, he said, would come from doctors and patients at a time they can ill afford it, given the recession and rising unemployment.

"These women come in, they've lost their jobs, they don't have the money for a face-lift," he said. By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS Associated Press

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	Report Comment parksport, (11/20/2009 10:41:55 AM) Leaving aside the reasons people have elective cosmetic surgery, I wonder why (as claimed) New Jersey spent $3.39 for every $1 in tax revenue collected?
	Report Comment tfromtulsa, Tulsa (11/20/2009 12:35:26 PM) This is terrible news for Botox Nazi!
	Report Comment upinarms, Tulsa (11/20/2009 3:25:26 PM) I agree that a tax on cosmetic surgery or procedures is totally unfair. Why not tax junk foods, a main cause of our high health costs? Why not tax cable television, or soft drinks? Those kinds of tax hikes would make some sense, at least. Why impose a penalty on people trying to look better? Whether they can afford it or not, is beside the point. Maybe it's being considered because it's loosely associated with health care. But you can't let something so unjust get by, just because people can afford to pay the tax. Maybe the tax will fall on another group next, say hair cuts, or pet grooming. WHAT NEXT? It's a slippery slope when we decide to unfairly tax certain items, already not tax deductable, in place of what often causes health problems in the first place. Tax Doritos, not cosmetic surgery.
	Report Comment Charley, (11/20/2009 5:23:25 PM) The government tackses everything, why not start gluing things on, so Tacks aren't necessary..? One of these days, folks that vote along "party lines", will QUIT.
	Report Comment FUTURE WORLD, Tulsa (11/20/2009 11:09:37 PM) Great idea as long as cosmetic sugery to repair disfigurement is not taxed.
	Report Comment Elusive, Owasso (11/20/2009 11:45:07 PM) SR, that was the good ole days. Have you noticed every idea they come up has something to do with women? I can't wait until these guys come up for re-election.
	Report Comment parksport, (11/21/2009 1:27:57 AM) My thoughts were about burn victims, bad cases of "road rash", severe acne, and other reasons people might want to "elect" to have cosmetic surgery. It is not always by choice trying to look better. Not an easy line to draw when dictating what will be defined as by choice.

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