The Arizona Medical Group Management Association told national MGMA May 1 it would end its affiliation, following a trend of organizations departing and rebranding as Healthcare Leaders Association.
Here are five key things to know:
1. The MGMA changed its affiliation agreement deals in June, aiming for more oversight of financial and membership data in its 46-state reach.
2. The MGMA, comprising more than 60,000 medical practice leaders, proposed two affiliation agreements that resulted in 41 organizations sending notice of dissent in September. The first was to affiliate as a state chapter, which would give administrative and governance duties to the national organization. The second was to join as a state partner affiliate, which is similar to former agreements, but it would ban the affiliate from hosting a conference within 30 days of a nearby MGMA event, among other qualifications.
3. The dissent letters asked for a year to consider the new affiliate options, a comparison between historical agreements, and a meeting with leadership. The organization agreed to meet but declined other requests.
"When we realized there would be no compromise, there would be no changes made, we had to very quickly figure out our exit strategy," Rachael Perlinger, president of Healthcare Leaders Association of Minnesota, told Becker's.
4. Other organizations that disaffiliated are Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts/Rhode Island, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire/Vermont, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. The MGMA has recreated its own chapters in these states.
5. Senior vice president of product strategy and sales at the MGMA, Andrew Swanson, told Becker's the move comes after years of considering changing affiliation agreements due to financial struggles from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The MGMA allegedly found a few state affiliates were "on the brink of insolvency" before implementing the new affiliation agreements, Mr. Swanson said.