The healthcare bill approved by the US Senate, Page 2045 Sec. 9017, Excise Tax on Elective Cosmetic Medical Procedures included in the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act".

This dense legalese translates to a tax on all cosmetic procedures as partial payment for the healthcare overhaul our current administration is attempting to implement.

The problem is that you would be paying this tax, the FIRST time this country has levied a tax on patients for medical procedures. This Bill is objectionable in many ways, including:

• This is a discriminatory tax. According to current statistics, 91% of all cosmetic procedures are requested by women
• This will not have considerable consequences on the wealthiest patients but, as usual, affects the middle class. Working women, soccer moms, and scores of others who carefully save and budget to improve their appearance and self esteem will be penalized for doing so.
• Procedures such as breast reduction that have been cited in the literature for improving self esteem and quality of life would be taxed as well.
• Your doctor as tax collector: This provision places physicians in the role of tax collector and holds physicians liable should an individual fail or refuse to pay the tax. That is not the relationship we want with our patients!