A major contributing factor to the rise in the number of cosmetic procedures, particularly those involving surgery, is financing. While once a non-existant or negligible part of most plastic surgeon’s practices a mere decade ago, it is now a significant and important component of patient conversion today. Like many other luxury services, the ability to finance the purchase is often the determining factor of whether that procedure is done in the near future.

While there are numerous companies, both nationally and locally, that provide cosmetic procedure financing, one of the most well known is that of Care Credit. It is the sole financing company that I use in my practice because of their ease of customer use online and the credibility and reliability of the company. In addition, they are endorsed by the American Society of Plastic Surgery as their health-care credit card company. I had no idea, however, that Care Credit has been in business for over two decades until their most recent announcement.

Care Credit is celebrating its 25^th year in business of financing plastic surgery and other medical and dental procedures, having served over 20 million patients. As an appreciation, it has announced its “25 Years of Caring Sweepstakes” with a grand prize of $25,000 and 25 other prizes of $1,000 each. This sweepstakes exists for Care Credit cardholders and is time-limited, running from April 15^th to May 31^st. Existing patients with good-standing with Care Credit receive an automatic sweepstakes entry and those who use their card at any medical practice during this time period will receive an additional entry.

The consideration of having a plastic surgery procedure financed is a personal one and should be evaluated carefully. When looking at the cost of surgery, and how much money to borrow, be aware of the total cost of the procedure. Often a listed fee by a practice may be just the surgeon’s fee and not the total cost of surgery. Most cosmetic surgery procedures have four different variable costs. These include the surgeon’s fee, operating room time, anesthesiologist charge and the cost of any implants or devices used during the surgery. (e.g., breast implants, chin implants etc) Make sure that you know the total cost of your desired procedure(s) before applying for financing.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana   

Each year more and more Americans, as well as those around the world, undergo cosmetic surgery. While there are many considerations that go into why and how one may head to the operating room table to change their facial appearance or body shape, cost is always a significant issue.Even amongst the most ardent detractors of cosmetic surgery, if cost was removed as an obstacle some would soften their opinion.

In a recent published study from Harris Interactive on behalf of Coupon Cabin, their survey study showed that nearly one fourth (23 %) of American adults said they would have cosmetic surgery if not for its costs. Not surprisingly, more women (28%) than men (18%) stated they would. The management of such costs over the past decade has been softened by the emergence of numerous health financing companies, Care Credit being one of the most well known. Such financing has allowed many to have cosmetic surgery and pay for it just like a car or major home appliance.

The impact of financing for cosmetic surgery over the past decade has been huge and is one of the major factors in the frequency and popularity of these surgical manipulations. I have seen the percent of patients who finance cosmetic surgery in my own practice change from around 10% in 2000 to over 40% by 2010. This does not include patients who pay for their surgery on their own credit cards. Whether they pay it off before interest accrues or effectively finance it by paying off over time is unknown.

But the past few years has seen the emergence of a new method of affording cosmetic procedures, the coupon. Coupons or the ‘daily deal’ has rapidly emerged as  a method for doctors and aesthetic practices to entice new patients by offering a cosmetic procedure at a lower cost for a limited time period. Popularized by Groupon, numerous clones of the same concept have rapidly sprung up. This has become particularly popular in lower cost procedures done in the office such as Botox, injectable fillers and skin treatments. According to this survey report, nearly 10% of women between the ages of 18 and 44 said they had used a coupon to help pay for a recent cosmetic procedure. Equally relevant is that an additional 22% of adults said they would consider doing it even though they had not yet done it.

Couponing, if you will, has spread from their historic use in the grocery store to cosmetic care today. Between the high costs of surgical and non-surgical procedures and the recent and ongoing economic recession, many people shop for the best deal using the coupon approach. More significant savings are usually realized on lower cost procedures (under a few hundred dollars) than more costly ones due to the overhead expenses of the providers. This is why actual surgery appears less frequently than something like Botox in a coupon sales approach.

Coupons for cosmetic procedures, while sparking great interest from consumers, is highly controversial amongst cosmetic practitioners. While the coupon company earns a nearly equal amount from the coupon sale as the provider, the doctor has to do all the work and assume all the risks of making a satisfied patient. If there is unhappiness with a coupon-generated service, the doctor must accommodate the patient secondarily not the coupon company. In addition, the theory of generating a repeat patient based on exposure to the practice because of a coupon is largely theoretical. These new coupon patients are coming in for the deal and often nothing more. Coupons do not generate patient loyalty…other than to the next coupon deal.

Dr. Barry Eppley

www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com

Indianapolis, Indiana