Stop the Cosmetic Tax

(ALERT: Senate leaders have withdrawn the tax on cosmetic medical procedures from the health care reform bill now being considered on the Senate floor. Thanks to all who sent messages to their Senators, signed petitions and enlisted friends in this effort. However, it is possible that the cosmetic tax could be added back into the bill before final passage. We will keep you updated. Please stay tuned)

Buried in the massive health reform bill being debated in the Senate is a provision that would add a five percent tax to "cosmetic surgery and medical procedures" to help cover the $849 billion price tag for health care reform.  The tax would cover any cosmetic medical procedure deemed "not necessary to ameliorate a deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or disfiguring disease."
 
The tax could apply to a wide-range of treatments and procedures designed to help enhance a patient’s self-confidence and aid in comprehensive self-improvement, including botulinum toxin and dermal filler injections, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, dental caps and implants, teeth whitening… the list goes on and on.
 

This tax on self-improvement should be opposed because:

  • The tax is punitive and places an additional burden on the middle class
  • The tax discriminates predominantly against women
  • The tax does not serve the goals of health reform
  • The tax mistakenly puts cosmetic medical procedures in the same category as unhealthy habits such as cigarettes and alcohol
  • The tax will be impossible to effectively and equitably administer, converting physicians into tax collectors
  • The tax discourages scientific medical innovation and promotes dangerous and unregulated alternatives to otherwise safe, FDA-approved and responsible procedures

Who will be impacted?

  • Patients who are having or considering any treatment or procedure that might be taxed;
  • Physicians and clinicians who perform and administer those treatments and procedures;
  • Employees of companies who manufacture cosmetic medical treatments;
  • Americans opposed to additional taxes on individuals and small businesses to cover the costs of health reform.

How you can help

It's simple.  By taking the following easy steps, you can help put a stop to Senator Reid's proposed tax on cosmetic medical procedures which will predominantly affect women.  Your support matters, so please take a moment to partake in this important effort!
 

  • Click on the "Contact your Senator" link at the top of this page and send a message to Congress that you oppose the self-improvement tax.
  • Join the Cosmetic Tax Opposition Movement to protect your rights and stop Washington from adding these arbitrary and discriminatory new taxes.