MembershipBenefits of MembershipRepresentationWAEPS is a member-driven organization with a very active team of physicians who volunteer a considerable amount of time to help ensure you can concentrate on patient care. NEW! Town Hall Meetings WAEPS will host periodic Town Hall Meetings via Zoom to help keep our members up to date on things impacting ophthalmologists around our State and country. All members are welcome to join the conversation and ask questions of the ophthalmology panel. Stay tuned for new dates and topics coming throughout the year. Advocacy - Legislative AffairsThe Washington Academy is your voice in state legislation and regulatory affairs. We proactively protect your practice in Olympia. We engage two lobbying firms that monitor all health-related legislation and regulation which could remotely affect ophthalmologists in the state. They help us strategically defend against legislation that could be harmful to our members’ ophthalmic practices. Recent successful advocacy efforts include:
EducationAs a member, you and your staff receive special discount pricing on the following educational programs offered by WAEPS: WAEPS Annual MeetingThis physician CME program is one of the country’s best state meetings, featuring nationally renowned faculty. Also held annually in conjunction with the WAEPS Annual Meeting:
For more information about the Annual Meeting, please visit our annual meeting page.
Monthly Scientific MeetingsFree of charge to members, this meeting series runs from October through May. It features speakers from across the country lecturing on a variety of clinical topics and offers AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits. WAEPS members may attend in person (at Harborview Hospital’s training auditorium in Seattle) or via webinar. For more information about our Monthly Meeting Series, please visit our monthly meeting page. Health Plan RelationsWAEPS represents you with payers. Member volunteers sit as liaisons on the Medicare Advisory Committee and the WSMA Interspecialty Council. Information on payer updates and alerts are shared with members in the In-Focus newsletter and special e-broadcasts. A WAEPS board member attends these meetings to monitor for changes important to all ophthalmologists in the state. Member CommunicationsWAEPS members receive the e-newsletter, In-Focus, plus as-needed e-broadcasts to help you and your staff keep up-to-date on educational opportunities and practice alerts. Public Education & AwarenessWAEPS hosts a consumer-driven website that provides empowering resources and information for the public to take charge of their eye health. OMIC DiscountWAEPS members are eligible for up to 8% off their annual malpractice rates through OMIC (Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company) by attending risk management seminars during our annual meeting. Referrals
The WAEPS website maintains a robust membership database, accessible by consumers to help them find a physician. In addition, the WAEPS office handles referral requests generated by Google Ad Words and other WAEPS social media initiatives. Physicians EyePACEyePAC is the most successful physician specialty political action committee in the state. Your voluntary, personal contribution to the EyePAC will help ensure ophthalmologists have a strong voice in our state legislature. By joining forces with your fellow WAEPS members through the EyePAC, you can maximize our specialty’s political clout and help ensure that what is being legislated is productive to your practice interests and best for patient care. Contributions go directly to helping pro-ophthalmology candidates win election to the state legislature. Ready to Join?Click here to view our membership categories and pricing WAEPS Dues Tax Deductibility Information: WAEPS Dues and other contributions to WAEPS and/or EyePAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. In most cases, a portion of the WAEPS dues may be deductible for tax purposes as professional or business expenses. For your records, please note that the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 states that association dues used for lobbying activities are not deductible as a business expense. As a result, 45% of your WAEPS dues for cannot be deducted as a business expense for federal income tax purposes. In addition, no portion of any dues paid to the EyePAC can be deducted as a business expense on your federal income tax return. Note: the WAEPS-affiliated Washington Eye Foundation (WEF) is a 501c3 charity. 100% of your donations to the WEF are tax deductible. WAEPS Refund PolicyMembership dues do not renew automatically. When a member wishes to terminate membership, no refund of the prepaid dues will be provided. |