If you’re thinking about getting a labiaplasty or vaginoplasty, you might consider getting it sooner than later. That’s because there’s lots of talk about taxing plastic surgery procedures in order to help the economic recovery along.
And yes, it already has a cute name: the “BO-TAX.” But cute names aside, the United States Senate is reported to be looking to cosmetic surgery operations to help with funding President Barack Obama’s trillion-dollar healthcare reform.
So what will be the result? Undoubtedly it will impact the number of cosmetic surgery procedures that are done. That’s the normal effect when a lifestyle choice is taxed.
According to some models, the Senate could add a 10 % tax on plastic-surgery procedures that have been determined to not be medically necessary. That means it would affect surgery for liposucton, breast enlargements, nose jobs, and yes, most labiaplasties and vaginoplasties. Those who have these procedures done could see their bill raised by an extra 10 percent.
So what caused the Senate to target plastic surgery? There’s a perception among many that only the wealthiest Americans have plastic surgery. This is blatantly false, but in politics, perception is everything.
In fact, what I’ve seen from my own practice is that plastic surgery patients are just normal people. I know this because one of the first questions we get is “How much will it cost?”
Another problem with the tax is that, unlike a sales tax or gasoline tax, this one would unfairly discriminate against females age 19 to 64, who comprise more than 85 percent of those getting plastic surgery.
So far, New Jersey is the only state which has added a cosmetic surgery state. And what they’ve found is that legislators greatly over-estimated how much revenue they would collect from the procedures. There’s no reason to believe the same thing is not true on a national level.
In fact, as more and more people look at this proposed tax, they are finding that the money generated would be minuscule and not worth the level of discrimination it would introduce against young and middle-aged women.
Fortunately, we do still live in a democracy where politicians care very much about what voters think. If you’re considering plastic surgery at any time in your life, or have already had a procedure done, consider contacting your Senators and other officials and expressing your opinion on the plastic-surgery tax.
