Health Care Reform Bill Action Needed

The senate is moving to debate their latest version of the health care reform bill. In this version a cosmetic surgery tax has been added to help pay for the legislation. This legislation will impose a 5% tax of cosmetic surgery procedures to be paid by the patient. Some important considerations are as follows.

Elective surgery taxes discriminate against women given that 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients are female. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, cosmetic surgery is no longer an exclusive luxury afforded by the very wealthy. In fact, 86% of cosmetic surgery patients are working women. ASPS data show that for individuals planning to have cosmetic surgery within the next two years, 60% of respondents reported a household income of $30,000-$90,000 a year. Most importantly, 40% of the 60% reported income of $30,000-$60,000. Only 10% of respondents reported household income over $90,000. This data clearly refutes the suggestion that elective surgery taxes are “luxury" or “sin" taxes affecting a privileged few.

These taxes are arbitrary and difficult to administer. As evidenced with the recent experience in New Jersey, the only state to impose a cosmetic tax, the line between “cosmetic" and “reconstructive" surgery is not always clear and leaves the determination of medical necessity up to state tax auditors—a completely inappropriate proposition. This can be a potential auditing nightmare; implementation of this subjectively imposed tax will require an inordinate amount of time to interpret and administer with questionable return. 

Take action today and tell your Senators that taxing medical procedures is an inappropriate tool to fix broken finances. I urge you to contact your elected officials and voice your opposition to this matter. We all agree that health care reform is necessary, but lets not pay for it by taxing medical procedures. 

This is disgusting! I am not American but will be urging friends to write to their senators to object to this tax. I believe that having reconstructive surgery ( as apposed to the term cosmetic surgery)  after WLS is not necessarily a luxury but more of a necessity and I fully believe that insurance should pay for more of these procedures. In many cases they paid for this surgery - they should pay for some of the follow up procedures too... Some people are left with large hanging stomachs which affect skin and balance and bad backs etc. The insurance does state they will look at it on a case by case basis - but it is rare to get cover. So now, on top of that , the Government is letting the insurance companies off the hook and proposing to tax self paid surgery medical costs by 5%??!!! Disgusting!

Many of us know that going about with hanging stomachs, elongated breasts, bat wings and hanging thighs is a price we paid to lose weight  - but it makes us feel unattractive - and those of us who have been lucky enough to have had reconstructive surgery to correct this - know how difficult it was to  pay for these procedures...... these were not celebrity surgeries to straighten a nose or have our tummy's lipoed because we were 10lbs overweight - these were surgeries to help us regain what other people take for granted  - our health and looking like a normal person again! It is hard enough to pay for without the government interfering on how we spend our money.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention!  Do you know if the Obesity Action Coalition is aware of this legislation?

Jackie

P.S.   I, for one, never thought that I would be able to afford to have reconstructive surgery - but I did - so never say you can never have it - it can happen and there are ways!  So protest now before you find yourself able to afford surgery and then find that the costs have increased by 5%

As always I am on the side of justice and believe we need to stand up for what we believe in!!!!