PLEASE HELP FIGHT THE PROPOSED COSMETIC SURGERY TAX

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Somewhere in the new proposed health care legislation, which Congress will be acting upon in the next few weeks, is a 5% Cosmetic Surgery tax.  This will directly affect the cost of Gynecomastia surgery, which is perceived by our government and many insurance companies as cosmetic (although we, the afflicted, do not agree with them).

WE MUST ACT TO DEFEAT THIS PROVISION!!!

Some facts about the proposed 5% tax on cosmetic surgery -- which will take effect Jan 1, 2010 if the new Health Care Bill is passed this month in Congress.

First, please read about this tax (and note that gynecomastia is included on the second page)
    
What to do about this:

Call your Senator or Representative and voice your opposition to this proposed tax!  Call your members of Congress by utilizing the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121.  NOTE: You must know the name of your Member of Congress prior to calling the switchboard.  This information for Senators can be found at www.senate.gov (scroll by state).  You can determine the name of your representative by going to www.house.gov where you can enter your zip code. To obtain your Senator's D.C. office contact information.  It is very important that you write each of your Members of Congress and call often to log your concern about the cosmetic tax!

Please tell all your friends and family to bombard congressional offices with phone calls.

This tax will undoubtedly increase the cost of gynecomastia surgery!!!!!!!

Every single phone call is important -- the government WILL bow to pressure -- but only WE can generate that pressure!  Spread the word through this forum and others -- and let it go viral.

Dr Jacobs

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Although those who have gyne know that it is a medical condition (and surgery to correct it is not vanity but the correction of a true medical condition), many insurance companies regard it as cosmetic and do not cover it.  They create such stringent criteria that virtually no-one qualifies for insurance reimbursement.

Therefore, given the current conditions, it is quite likely that a 5% cosmetic surgery tax may apply to gyne surgery.

Your surgery will cost more.  And the surgeon will now be a tax collector as well.  And with any tax collections, there will be audits.  But this time the audits will occur in your doctor's office, conducted by non-medical state/federal auditors , who will make decisions about what is cosmetic and what is not, thereby deciding what patients should be charged the tax.  And how will they determine this?  By reviewing patient medical records -- a complete invasion of privacy and usurpation of the privacy laws concerning medical records.

All in all, this tax, is a failure.  It has failed to provide revenue in NJ (the only state in which it exists) and has actually cost more to administer than it has collected.

Please contact your congressmen (see how to do it in the announcement section of this forum) and voice your strong opposition to this tax as part of a new health care bill.  Together we can make our voices heard!

Dr Jacobs

[Grandpa Bambu]

The surgeon will now be a tax collector as well.  And with any tax collections, there will be audits.  But this time the audits will occur in your doctor's office, conducted by non-medical state/federal auditors , who will make decisions about what is cosmetic and what is not, thereby deciding what patients should be charged the tax.  And how will they determine this?  By reviewing patient medical records -- a complete invasion of privacy and usurpation of the privacy laws concerning medical records.

This would mean that patient/surgeon confidentiality is out-the-window...  

What is the world coming to?  

GB...

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

As of right now, the proposed cosmetic tax has been removed from the final version of the health plan bill.

Dr Jacobs