Insight Matters
Spring, 2003

Membership Approves 2004 Dues Structure

At the Annual Meeting of the OPA on April 26, 2003, the membership approved the 2004 dues structure as recommended by Council. Following is the 2004 dues schedule as compared to 2003:

During a lively discussion the following points were made:

Dues income is our major source of income - 95% of our operating budget.

While the increase (26%) seems high, coupled with total OPA/APA dues, it is only a 9.4% increase.

Dues have been frozen since 1998 and have not kept up with inflation. Dues have been increased only four times in the past 20 years.

Reserves have reached a critical low, declining by 61% from 1998 to projected 2003.

The cost of OPA membership remains low - 85 cents per day in 2003 and $1.07 per day in 2004.

Dues income has declined as a result of a decrease in dues-paying members.

Non-dues income has declined. Interest rates have continued to decline. Coupled with lower reserves, this has resulted in considerable loss of income.

Income has declined due to a loss of APA non-dues revenue sharing grants.

Income has decreased due to a decline of attendance at our scientific meetings.

No one wants a dues increase, but it is imperative that we remain financially strong, as we face upcoming legislative issues such as psychologists prescribing.

We must continue and expand our advocacy efforts to protect our patients and our profession.

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