The health care reform bill being considered in the U.S. Senate hits Baby Boomers where it hurts -- in their vanity.
In order to help provide health care for the people that need it but can't afford, the Senate bill puts a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic procedures.
So, if you want bigger boobs or fewer wrinkles, you'd have to pay a little more. For Botox, then, it's a Bo-tax.
Opponents -- those with the greatest interest in the vanity of Boomers -- are crying foul.
"A large portion of those being taxed would be the baby-boomer generation," said a statement from the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgeons. "And as this age
group continues to age, the more interest will be generated in cosmetic procedures."
The AACS even went so far as to suggest that it's important an important enough issue to possibly charge up Baby Boomer voters.
"It is important to note that the age bracket are most likely to vote in elections is the same as those who are electing to have cosmetic procedures," said the AACS statement.
Baby Boomers, the academy feels, will votes with its wrinkles.
Allergan, which sells Botox, took a discrimination against women tack, saying the tax “discriminates against women,” the company said in a statement. Some 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients are working women ages 35-50 who have an average annual income of $55,000 per year, according to Allergan.
There is a long way for the bill to go yet. There are elements in the House version that aren't in the Senate version, and vice versa. The Bo-tax isn't in the House version. And if there is a bill that comes out of the Senate and conference committee will have to resolve the Senate and House differences.
The Congressional Budget Office said the vanity tax would raise $5 billion over the next 10 years.
There's always a price to pay for vanity.
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