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Financing Your Cosmetic Surgery
By: Ricardo Silva
The popularity of cosmetic surgery has never been higher. If you are considering it, financing your procedure is something you strongly need to take into account.
Financing Your Cosmetic Surgery
Cosmetic surgery is what is known as an elective surgery. The term elective has massive repercussions when it comes time to pay for the procedure. Specifically, elective surgeries are not covered by most health care plans. Instead, your health care only covers medically necessary procedures, to wit, a procedure that addresses some health risk such as cancer, hearing loss and so on.
Since health insurance does not cover cosmetic surgery, you need to figure out how to pay for it. Procedures range from $300 or so for simple botox injections to tens of thousands of dollars for major, complex reconstructive efforts. Most cosmetic procedures fall within the $2,000 to $10,000 price range. Regardless of the amount, the cost represents a lot of money you have to come up with. Plastic surgeons prefer cash, but financing is both expected and accepted.
Financing your cosmetic surgery is actually easier than you might think. Many lenders have recognized the need and created financing products to solve the problem. The loans range from good deals to nightmares, so you need to pay close attention to what you are agreeing to when undertaking financing.
You might be surprised to learn that Capital One finances cosmetic surgery. Yes, the same company that issues credit cards and has the funny commercials with the Vikings. Capital One offers financing up to $25,000 dollars. The loan typically has a term of 5 years and you make monthly payments. Interest rates on the loan depend on your credit. The company claims it offers rates as low as 1.9 percent interest, but the fine print indicates the rate goes as high as 23 percent. In simple terms, buyer beware!
If you are considering breast augmentation, Mentor Corporation offers the best financing solution. How good is it? They will finance your procedure in full if you agree to repay the loan with monthly payments for two years. The thing that makes it so great is Mentor does not charge you any interest! How can this be possible? Mentor is a manufacturer of implants, thus they make there money on the use of the implants. In practical terms, it is similar to car manufacturers offering no interest financing for new purchases.
If all else fails, there is one other option for financing your cosmetic surgery. Plastic begets plastic as they like to say. Yes, you can use your credit cards to finance the procedure you desire. Credit card interest rates tend to be astronomical, so make sure you understand the rate you will be paying and how the cost will impact your monthly payment.
Deciding to undergo cosmetic surgery is just one part of the decision. Figuring out how to pay for it is an entirely different issue, but just as important.
Ricardo de Silva is with Plastic Surgeon Practices - a directory of plastic surgeons. Visit us to read more plastic surgery articles. |
