Senate bill would tax plastic surgery

Five percent tax would take effect on Jan. 1.

Thinking of getting a boob job? You may want to do it before New Year's.

In order to fill a revenue gap, the Senate's version of the health care overhaul (Sec. 9017) includes a new 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery.

The tax is estimated to raise $5.8 billion over 10 years.

It would be paid by patients when they are billed for surgery. If they don't, then doctors would be forced to pay.

The tax does not apply to surgery necessary to fix genetic abnormalities or problems caused by accidents or disease. A separate provision requires insurance companies to provide coverage for surgery for children with those problems.

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, there were nearly 1.8 million surgical cosmetic procedures in the U.S. in 2008.

The most common is breast augmentation, which typically costs between $3,603 and $3,885 depending on whether implants are saline or silicone. The tax would add between $180 and $194 to the cost.

-- Ryan Teague Beckwith, Congress.org

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