Consider this, from The Associated Press, on the elaborate plans to minimize federal red ink in the Senate Democrats’ health care legislation:
Reid’s bill relies on cuts in future Medicare spending to cover costs, as well as higher payroll taxes for the well-off, a new levy on patients undergoing elective cosmetic surgery, and a laundry list of other taxes, fees and penalties (my emphasis).
Maybe it’s just me, but is there anything unusual about singling out for punitive tax treatment one of the few sectors of medical services that has seen an explosion of demand and a reduction in price?
Why has cosmetic surgery (including procedures like LASIK) done so well?
As the National Center for Policy Analysis reports, “Cosmetic surgery is one of the few types of medical care for which consumers pay almost exclusively out of pocket.” Patients have incentives to shop around, and providers have incentives to advertise their prices and services and structure arrangements that make consumers happy.
Too bad Obamacare would shift the dysfunctional third-party payment system into overdrive, running over consumers in the process.
