Thanks to a concerted effort by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and other associated professional organizations, as well as a grass-roots collaborative effort between plastic surgeons and our patients, the proposed “tax” on cosmetic surgery procedures has been eliminated from the current version of the Healthcare Reform Act.  This unfair tax would have imposed an unfair burden on providers of plastic surgery procedures, including Botox and filler injections, who would have been forced to collect this tax from our patients.  It would also potentially violate patient privacy and choice if an audit of physician’s records was required in the event of a dispute regarding the amount of tax due.  This tax would also have placed an unfair surcharge on middle-class patients who make up the vast majority of those who seek plastic surgery procedures, and may have had the unintended consequence of driving patients overseas and across national borders in an effort to avoid the tax (”plastic surgery tourism”), where the quality and safety standards are less stringent.

On behalf of all plastic surgeons, Dr. Cambre thanks all of you for your activism and vocal opposition which led to the defeat of this unfair proposed tax!