Nationwide, plastic surgery has exploded into an $8.4 billion industry. From 2000 to 2004, the number of cosmetic surgery procedures grew 24 percent to 9.2 million, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons – proof that cosmetic surgery is no longer just for the rich and the famous.
For some cosmetic surgery patients, there is no price too high for beauty, and now the procedures are more accessible than ever. Alongside the rising demand for plastic surgery, a handful of the nation’s top lenders have began offering special credit cards and loans exclusively for cosmetic procedures.
Promising plastic surgeons immediate payments for treatments the patients want to pay off over time, the patients are able to use the special plastic surgery cards and loans to finance surgery without maxing out balances on their traditional credit cards. There is much dispute among plastic surgeons and patients whether or not elective surgical methods have become too accessible to too wide of a group of people – sending the message that it is okay to go into debt for cosmetic surgery.
A division of GE Capital started marketing its cosmetic surgery cards about two years ago called CareCredit. The company said about 45,000 doctors nationwide accepts the form of payment.
Another finance option, Cosmetic Fee Plan, offers doctors cash upfront for plastic surgeries patients choose to finance with unsecured loans. According to Capital One, who runs the plan, there are 30,000 participating doctors nationwide.
Both plans require plastic surgery patients to get applications from their doctors and use the plan to finance procedures until they hit a credit limit. Benefits of the plastic surgery credit cards are that both CareCredit and Cosmetic Fee Plan work only with board-certified in plastic surgery doctors licensed to practice medicine.
Just because the availability of using a plastic surgery credit card is an option, not all individuals should automatically opt for plastic without fully considering their financial situation.