In May Santa Clara County Medical Association absorbed the administrative functions of the Monterey County Medical Society to help sustain the waning and financially struggling society. But the move could cause a ripple effect stretching beyond Silicon Valley; it could act as a model organization for other small physician associations struggling to stay afloat.

In fact, the Sonoma County Medical Association manages the Marin Medical Society in a similar arrangement to the one brokered by Santa Clara and Monterey, and the benefits of such a model are many, according to Santa Clara County Medical Association executive director Bill Parrish.

Many small county medical associations are facing a serious problem during the next several years, Parrish said. The executive directors have likely been with the organizations for years and are up for retirement and it’s more difficult to find replacements, especially for the salary many of them can afford.

As was the case at Monterey County, as membership numbers drop, benefits are cut. Then more members leave the organization rather than pay the same amount of dues, or even higher, for fewer benefits. Monterey’s society has about 250 members this year, down from nearly 265 in 2007.

Instead of closing their doors due to trailing membership numbers and sinking profits, some small medical societies are opting to join with ‘parent’ associations, like the agreement between Monterey and Santa Clara.

“This arrangement is good for both organizations,” said Parrish, who brokered the deal between Monterey and Santa Clara.

In this case, the medical society will continue to have a board in Monterey County to represent its physicians, but all other functions will be operated out of the San Jose office for the SCCMA.

Monterey County physicians will be offered more services, benefits and even lower annual dues under the new arrangement. Now, the dues are $350, down from $360 last year.

Under SCCMA, Monterey County physicians will be offered assistance in solving problems with insurance companies, more continuing education workshops and a 22 percent discount on Verizon and other equipment for a physician’s office.

“Just last week a physician from Monterey called us upset. He had hired a consulting firm, but felt he got ripped off,” Parrish said. “We helped him negotiate a better deal.”

This will become a model organization and partnership for more medical associations across the state, Parrish said.
The decision to partner with Santa Clara came after Monterey County Medical Society, a nonprofit organization, suffered financial losses of $124,329 in 2007. During the same period in 2006, the association made a profit of $7,010, according to the latest 990s filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

The medical society had a $161,691 in revenue for 2007, while its Executive Director, Ivey Zinaida, was paid $99,266 a year in salary, according to federal documents. Zinaida retired in 2007.

The Healthcare Journal was unable to reach Monterey’s board members for comments on this story.

Santa Clara County Medical Association, on the other hand, is one of the largest medical associations in California. In 2007, the association had a profit of $53,920 on $1.2 million in revenue, according to 990 filing with the IRS. Bill Parrish, the executive director, earns a salary of $364,000 a year.

Now that the merger is complete, one primary objective for the SCCMA is to grow membership. Given that there are 600 physicians in the county, Parrish said, there is plenty of room for more among the medical society’s ranks.

Troy May is a contributing editor of the Healthcare Journal. He may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .