U.S. Plastic Surgeons Object to the Health care Bill's Bo-tax

Plastic Surgeons are fighting mad about a Senate proposal in the health reform bill that would levy a tax on most elective cosmetic procedures.

For starters, it's just a proposal. The 5-percent tax on elective procedures would affect patients going in for face-lifts and teeth whitening, but would not affect those who need surgery on a knee injury, or a deformity. The Associated Press reports It's expected that the so-called Bo-tax could wind up raising $6 billion. But the president elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons says it won't just affect the wealthy. He says the majority of women who come in for plastic surgery are only making between $30-thousand and $90-thousand a year. And Caroline Van Hove, a spokeswoman for Allergan, Inc. which makes the Botox cosmetic says..

"It is a random hit on an easy target that is only punitive and not corrective. The bottom line is that taxing cosmetic procedures is unnecessarily punitive on people who have merely decided to enhance their appearance."

But FierceHealthcare.com reports that supporters of the proposal say this tax is no different than taxes on luxury goods and services. Diane Archer, director of the health care project at Institute for America's Future, says she feels that cosmetic surgery

"is not a medical service. It's the equivalent of a facial or a massage."

Supporters also says it too early for the plastic surgery industry to fight against the Bo-tax. They point out with so many big differences between the House and the Senate Health care reform bills, there's no way of knowing right now what it will actually look like.