Monthly Payments Coming in 2010

By Carl Hangee-Bauer, ND, LAc
AANP President-Elect

I don't know about you, but I've always found it a bit of a financial stress for my business in January when my AANP membership renewal is due. With the last few weeks of December's cash flow slow due to the holidays and quarterly tax payments due in January on top of all my other bills, it can be tough to find the funds to renew my AANP membership for the entire year. That's why I'm happy to see the AANP move to a new dues structure where one can make monthly membership payments over the course of the year. Starting December 1, 2009, the monthly payment option will be made available to all AANP members. One can still pay upfront and receive a 16% discount, or stretch out their payments over the year to keep their cash flow running smoothly. I already do this with my state naturopathic and acupuncture associations and have found it to be an easy way to keep up my membership and support the important work of my professional associations.

There are more benefits to AANP membership than ever before. The popularity of www.naturopathic.org, the AANP web site, has soared 400%, with traffic to "Find an ND" increasing 30% in the past year. If you haven't checked out the members page on Practice Development, please do so; there are many articles geared to helping you grow and maintain successful practices. Politically, The AANP has joined the debate on health care to make sure that the message is heard that true health care reform is not just about changes in the insurance system. With AANP input, the definition of naturopathic medicine has been dramatically revised by the US Department of Labor to more accurately reflect our profession. We are involved in coalitions with other health professional associations with common goals as well as the Coalition for Patients Rights to combat the AMA's efforts to limit our licensing and scope of practice. In the past year, the AANP has worked with American Health Journal to develop a 7-part PBS series on naturopathic medicine, launched a national public relations campaign, and the new Natural Medicine Journal. I could go on but I think you get my point: The AANP is working hard for you to be the successful naturopathic physicians you are trained to be and we need your active participation so we can meet our mutual goals.

In 2010, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the AANP. I attended the first convention in Scottsdale back in 1986, became one of the first members of the AANP, and have maintained my membership ever since. I strongly believe that my participation along with hundreds of others have helped this organization and profession grow in ways we could not have imagined back then. Membership renewal notices will be sent out soon. I encourage you to join the AANP, get involved, and help guide the naturopathic profession for the next 25 years.