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Winter 2005 |
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M e m b e r s h i p
Conjoint
membership effective January: Penalty in place for late payment of dues
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Submitted Photo |
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Effective with the 2006
calendar year, NLMA dues will include both a NLMA and a CMA component.
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By Judy Hunt |
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At the 2005 NLMA annual meeting, a
motion was passed in favor of conjoint membership with the CMA.
Effective with the 2006 calendar year, NLMA dues will include both a
NLMA and a CMA component, the result being that all Newfoundland and
Labrador physicians will be paying the annual fee for both
organizations. In so doing, physicians in the province will be
joining the practice already in place in P.E.I., New Brunswick,
Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Northwest
Territories.
Even though more than 80 per cent of
physicians in the province are already members of the CMA, the annual
meeting did not endorse the concept of conjoint membership without some
debate. Consideration was given to the balance between individual choice
and collective responsibility. The prevailing view was that all
physicians benefit from CMA’s advocacy role and therefore it is
reasonable for all physicians to contribute towards the related cost.
Recent examples of CMA advocacy on behalf of patients include successful
lobbying for federal funding to:
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address long waiting times for tests
and procedures;
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replace aging equipment; and,
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provide self-sufficiency in health
human resources and a pan-Canadian HHR strategy.
Recent examples of more specifically
physician-related CMA advocacy include:
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higher annual RRSP contributions
limits; and,
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a more practical interpretation from
the Privacy Commissioner of what constitutes “informed consent”
under new federal privacy legislation.
Conjoint NLMA/CMA membership is a formal
recognition of a national/provincial advocacy partnership, and the
benefits of such a partnership will increase over time as the health
care system moves towards placing more emphasis on inter-provincial
standards and collaboration.
Membership dues
The deadline for the receipt of membership
dues is payment in full, or by quarterly installments, by February 15,
2006. A disproportionate amount of staff time is spent in collecting
dues not received by the deadline date. Starting in 2006, late payments
will be subject to a penalty of $50 per month. Late payments will not be
accepted online.
All members will receive an invoice by
postal mail early in January, and we ask that you submit payment before
the deadline date. If payment is not received by February 15, a final
notice will be sent indicating receipt of payment is required by the end
of February plus the late payment charge. If payment is not received by
February 28, the NLMA will be obliged to advise the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador of lapse of
payments.
Judy
Hunt is Director of Administrative Services with the NLMA.
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