The Wrinkles of the "Bo-Tax"

On the surface, the recent proposal by the Senate Finance Committee to place an excise tax on cosmetic surgery to increase government revenues for funding the new health care proposal seems to be a reasonable idea.1 As support for the administration’s health care plan wanes, debates about funding the plan echo throughout the Capitol. This “Bo-tax,” however, will likely come up short and will certainly hurt the plastic surgery community. In 2008, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) reported a 12% overall decrease in cosmetic surgery compared with the previous year.2 Clearly, in the current economic climate, raising the price on procedures for which …