ASPS Issues Special Bulletin Opposing Cosmetic Surgery Tax

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has spoken out against the 5 percent tax on cosmetic procedures, a last minute change that was added to the federal healthcare reform bill Wednesday night.

ASPS opposes this tax as discriminatory, arbitrary and ineffective. As 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients are female, elective surgery taxes unfairly target women. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, cosmetic surgery is no longer an exclusive luxury reserved for the very wealthy – the vast majority of patients are women who work.

I wrote about the possibility of this proposal last July, when the Senate finance committee decided against it, when it was, as Politico.com says, “a public relations battle that senators were [back then] not willing to wage.”

The ASPS is urging plastic surgeons to take action and contact their representatives in Congress; tell them that taxing cosmetic medical procedures discriminates against women and has proved ineffective in raising revenue.