If you’re considering Botox injections to diminish wrinkles or other cosmetic procedures, such as liposuction or face lifts, to turn back the hands of time, now would be a good time to do it if you don’t want to pay a 5% tax on these services. The $848 billion health care bill unveiled this past week by the Senate includes a 5% tax on aesthetic procedures and surgeries which is estimated to raise $5 billion over the next decade to fund the health care bill. Plastic surgeons are, not surprisingly, against such a tax due to its potential effect on income. On the other hand, proponents of the tax reason that some cosmetic procedures are luxury services and should be taxed as such. Approximately 12 million cosmetic procedures and surgeries (which are usually not covered by insurance) were performed last year, at a total cost of $10.3 billion, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. [via Kaiser Health News]
The following were the most popular cosmetic procedures of 2008, and their costs:
Top Five Minimally Invasive Procedures
- Botox – $391
- Hyaluronic Acid (to fill in wrinkles) – $578
- Chemical Peel – $815
- Laser Hair Removal – $456
- Microdermabrasion – $200
Top Five Surgical Procedures
- Breast Augmentation – $3,348
- Nose Reshaping – $4,197
- Liposuction – $2,881
- Eyelid Surgery – $2,963
- Tummy Tuck – $5,167
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.