Financing cosmetic surgery

[Guest guest]

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Financing cosmetic surgery

By MEGAN SCOTT

asap

The ads are enticing: a gorgeous woman in a bikini, a cosmetic

surgeon touting his no-interest financing, liposuction for under

$100 a month. Financing for cosmetic and plastic surgery has been

around since the 1990s, making the procedures increasingly available

to the nonrich.

Broke? Credit cards maxed out? A financing company is eager to lend

you the money. asap thinks you look great the way you are, but if

you insist on getting work done it's worth knowing which options are

credible, and whether financing is the best way to go.

On the surface, financing seems like an ideal arrangement. Doctors

get all their money up front from the financing companies. Financing

companies work with the patients to arrange payments and make money

from the interest on the loans. And you don't have to save $20,000

for that liposuction procedure.

But anyone considering this route needs to be careful, says Dr.

Steve Fallek, a cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon in New

York and Englewood, N.J.

''You're adding a middle man,'' says Fallek. ''You're adding a

financial company that doesn't have your best interests. If this is

the only way you can afford it, and this is really what you want to

do, by all means go ahead. But if there are other ways to safely go

about doing this, that's a better option.''

So what should you consider before you finance that tummy tuck?

Here's a list of tips:

1. Choose the surgeon first. Some finance companies encourage

prospective patients to secure a loan from them first and then pick

from a list of surgeons they prefer to work with. This is not a good

idea, says Fallek. ''A financing company is not going to be able to

give you the best plastic surgeon,'' he says. ''You want to go to a

board-certified plastic surgeon who is reputable, honest and who

hopefully you've gotten the name from someone who has had plastic

surgery from that person.'' Fallek says patients should ask their

surgeon to recommend a finance company.

2. Don't finance minor procedures. ''Financing is usually not a good

idea for less invasive procedures,'' says Dr. Wells, past

president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. ''Something

like Botox, the prices are reasonable enough, if you're getting

financing, it will cost you more than what it is worth.''

3. Use common sense. ''If the deal sounds too good to be true, it

probably is,'' says Dr. McGuire, of the American Society for

Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. ''Just like 1 percent home refinancing

programs. Those are very risky. Be skeptical of a very low interest

rate. There's usually something hidden.''

4. Consider the total cost. ''Make sure to find out about the total

cost of the procedure including the surgeons' fees and the costs of

anesthesiology and your surgical center or hospital stay,'' says

Mike Testa, president of CareCredit, part of GE Consumer Finance.

And what happens if you want your tummy a little tighter a few years

later? You may want to factor in the cost of possible future

procedures.

5. Make sure the finance company is reputable. It should have a good

track record in financing health care procedures and work with a

network of doctors, says Testa. ''If you are applying for financing

through the practice, the practice should clearly outline the terms

of the financing and provide you with the detailed terms in writing

before you apply,'' he says. You should never pay a broker fee.

6. Don't see surgeon after surgeon in search of a lower interest

rate. Most surgeons use the same financing companies, and your

credit is going to determine your interest rate -- not which surgeon

you use. Seeing different surgeons takes up time and money. ''I

recommend people get second opinions but not for the financing, more

for finding the right surgeon,'' says McGuire.

7. Consider other options. Maybe your credit card or credit union

has a lower interest rate. Maybe you can borrow the money from mom

and dad. ''A lot of patients take out home equity loans to pay for

this,'' says McGuire. ''It becomes a second mortgage, and the

interest rate is lower.''

8. Make sure you can afford the payments and consider the impact on

your credit. ''It's inappropriate for someone to be financing when

they don't have the financial wherewithal to pay for it,'' says

McGuire. ''It's just putting much limitation on their livelihood and

lifestyle.'' He also says patients who get in over their head are

more likely to be dissatisfied with the surgery.