A woman receives a professional wrinkle treatment. Photo Credit: Video GrabNovember 21, 2009, (Sawf News) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., unveiled a $848 billion health care bill on Wednesday, November 18, which includes a 5 percent tax on cosmetic surgery effective January 2010.
The Senate legislation uses the IRS definition for cosmetic surgery: "Any procedure which is directed at improving the patient's appearance and does not meaningfully promote the proper function of the body or treat illness or disease."
The tax will raise an estimated $5 billion over the next decade which will used to bring millions of more Americans under health cover.
Plastic surgeons in the US - recovering from recession caused double-digit declines in aesthetic surgeries like breast augmentation, liposuction and tummy tucks last year - are riled with the proposal. They say it will not just hurt aesthetic surgeons, but women with limited incomes as well. A lot of women who opt for cosmetic surgery are retirees with just a small surplus to spend, or those struggling to find a job.
"This will be devastating to doctors who do cosmetic surgery," Dr. Angela Cuzalina, a Tulsa, Okla., cosmetic surgeon tells the Miami Herald..
"You'd be surprised how price-sensitive people are to this. . . . It's a tax against women and the baby boomer generation having these procedures."
The tax is expected to affect spas offering lunch break cosmetic treatments like dermal filling, laser dermabrasion for office going women.
Of the 12 million cosmetic procedures and surgeries performed in the US last year, 10.4 million were minimally invasive treatments involving dermal fillers, laser wrinkle busting and chemical peels. Critics argue that a woman's looks make her more competitive in the dismal job market, so such procedures cannot be termed luxuries.
"Many clients are receiving Botox and fillers to maintain a competitive edge in this youth-oriented and dismal economy," said Bonnie Marting, the director of medical aesthetics at the Anushka Cosmedical Centre Spa & Salon in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Those supporting the tax point out that cosmetic surgeries are not must have medical treatments and so they should to be taxed, and like other luxury services, such as facials and messages, they should be taxed at higher rates.
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