Oppose the Cosmetic Tax!
Buried in the massive health reform bill is a provision that would add a five percent tax to any procedure directed at "improving a patient's appearance." If passed, this tax could apply to a wide-range of treatments designed to help enhance a patient's self-confidence such as dental caps, teeth whitening, birth-mark removal and more.
Contrary to popular stereotypes, procedures to improve one's appearance are generally not luxury items of the wealthy class. In fact, middle class patients comprise 60 percent of cosmetic medical procedure patients and 90 percent of cosmetic procedure patients are women.
The Cosmetic Tax is unreasonable and unfair and will hurt people -- particularly middle class women -- who responsibly seek to improve their appearance to enhance opportunities in the workplace, boost self confidence and/or correct a life-long aesthetic disfigurement.
Regardless of the reason, personal health choices belong to the patient, in consultation with their doctors, and no one else! Contact your senators and urge them to remove the Cosmetic Tax from health care reform legislation.
Dear [Decision Maker],
I am writing to urge you to take action to remove the proposed tax on cosmetic medical procedures included in Majority Leader Harry Reid's health reform bill. As someone who has made (or may in the future make) a well-educated and informed decision in consultation with a specialized physician to opt for cosmetic medical treatments because they allow me to express my best self and have been scientifically tested, I am strongly opposed to this unreasonable and unfair proposal that has no place in health care reform.
[Your comment will be inserted here]
This proposed tax is punitive and unfairly impacts the middle class, especially working women. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, sixty percent of Americans considering a cosmetic medical procedure are squarely in the middle class, earning between $30,000 and $90,000 annually. Adding a five percent tax to the cost of such procedures would unfairly cause them to shoulder a disproportionate share of the cost of health reform. And it may have harmful consequences as patients may seek untested and potentially dangerous treatments from unlicensed practitioners to avoid the tax, including seeking treatment across our borders and overseas.
The tax also does not serve the purpose of health care reform. Since these procedures are generally not covered by insurance, the proposed tax will not reduce the cost of health care nor will it reduce insurance premiums. And unlike cigarettes or alcohol which are taxed to try to change unhealthy behaviors, cosmetic medical procedures are healthy and a responsible form of self improvement. People should have the freedom to decide what is best for their personal health care, including our own aesthetic appearance and therefore be free to spend our own, hard-earned money to correct, alter or enhance our appearance responsibly, in consultation with a physician, without being forced to pay an extra tax.
Further, this tax would be extremely difficult to administer and places the physician and clinician in the role of determining when a tax should be added to a procedure and as tax-collector for the government. Importantly, the tax is opposed by multiple physician organizations, including the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, the American Academy of Dermatology Association, The American Academy of Ophthalmology, The American College of Surgeons, The American Society of Anesthesiologists and The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, among others. These physicians recognize the importance of medical aesthetic procedures to the patients they serve and the inherent unfairness represented by this bill.
The cosmetic medical procedures tax is unreasonable, unnecessary and unfair. I urge you to take action to remove it from the health reform legislation and from the debate. I look forward to hearing from you.
