Money doesn't actually talk. We do.

Should Shrinks Vet Plastic-Surgery Loans?

There has been a lot of press recently surrounding so called health-care loans. These loans—generally made by financing companies like Capital One and CareCredit (a unit of GE)—finance expensive medical procedures that health insurance typically does not cover.

Plastic-surgery loans are a natural category here. Americans spent over $11.4 billion on plastic surgery in 2006 according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons—up from $7.5 billion since 2000.

According to the ASPS, doctors are generally supposed to conduct a pre-operation evaluation to look for psychological red flags. If a patient wants a face exactly like Britney Spears, then the surgeon probably ought to refuse to perform the procedure.

In any event, most surgeons won’t put a knife to your face five minutes after meeting you. Capital One, however, will approve your loan for the surgery in minutes, according to its web site. Are they also doing psych evaluations before handing out these nifty loans?

We thought we’d call them up and ask:

FiLife: Do you guys do consultations before qualifying people for “cosmetic” loans?

Capital One spokeswoman, after five long seconds of dead air: No, we’re just the financing arm.

FiLife: Do you give psych evaluations?

Capital One: Done by Capital One? No. We just do the financing part. We don’t have psychiatrists involved in the lending process.

There you have it. If you’re someone with a bit of a compulsive streak, think before getting calf implants or whatever. And think twice before snagging a plastic-surgery loan just because it’s easy to get.

– Irina Aleksander

Photo: CapitalOne.com