There's word out of D.C. that some lawmakers want the country's beautiful people to pay for healthcare reform.

Nip Tuck_FX network To be precise, they want the beautiful people who got their good looks thanks to plastic surgery to pay.

According to the Drudge Report (via Tax Policy Blog), Senate Finance Committee members have discussed imposing a 10 percent excise tax on cosmetic surgery deemed unnecessary for medical purposes.

Personally, I plan to continue to age gracefully, mainly because my pain threshold is markedly lower than my vanity threshold, so this proposed tax wouldn't affect me. But I still think it's a bad idea.

It singles out a group of taxpayers who, for the most part, already foot these types of medical bills on their own since tax law doesn't allow for purely cosmetic surgery costs to be counted as deductible expenses.

Plus, it makes the implicit assumption that folks getting face lifts or tummy tucks or various enhancements are wealthy. That's not necessarily true.

People with body image issues that they think can only be fixed by a plastic surgeon's knife can be found in all economic levels. Some folks scrimp and save so they can get the nips and tucks done. To make them pay more would add tax injury to their already stretched bank accounts and damaged psyches.

Heck, they'll need that 10 percent to pay a therapist after they discover that a resculpted whatever didn't magically make their lives perfect.

So you lawmakers in Washington, D.C., known in some circles as Hollywood for Ugly People, who are floating this idea, you best find another way to reshape the financing of healthcare reform.

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