Due to solid growth and financial stewardship over the past few years, The Alliance paid current and former members more than $421,000 in the form of allocated equity this January.

Another Cooperative Benefit
The payout is just another benefit of choosing The Alliance - a not-for-profit cooperative - as their provider network partner. Unlike a for-profit company that may pay shareholders the extra money, a cooperative like ours returns that money to the members.

Members are entitled to the net proceeds generated by The Alliance. Each year, our member-led Board of Directors determines how much of the net proceeds will remain on the books and how much will be paid back to members. This annual patronage distribution to equity members occurs in the fall. It's one of the ways we ensure that our operations stay lean and focused on returning the benefit to members.

But this year, members received another payout in January. Because the cooperative was doing so well, due to member growth, improved savings rates and operational efficiency, the amount of reserve money had exceeded foreseeable needs. As such, this fall, the Board of Directors decided to pay out allocated equity to members and former members who were part of the cooperative during fiscal years 2003 through 2006.

What's Allocated Equity?
Allocated equity is the portion of annual net proceeds retained to provide working capital and build reserves for the organization. This equity remains on our books and is allocated for each organization with consideration given in future years for paying it out in cash. Both members and former members receive this payout.

Learn more about The Alliance and the benefits of our cooperative.


Join Us for Continuing Education Day
The Alliance will be holding two seminars the February where you can update your skills and earn continuing education credits. To make it easier on you, this year we're hosting one session in Madison and another in Rockford:

	February 22, 2012 - event will be held in Madison, Wis. full day, earn as many as 6 CE credits Learn more and register for the Madison CE Day.
	February 29, 2012 - event will be held in Rockford, Ill. half day, earn as many as 4 CE credits Learn more and register for the Rockford CE Day.

Reminder: The Alliance Service Area has Expanded
Our new primary service area includes 23 counties in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. This includes the addition of eight additional counties in northern Illinois.

Over the past year we've secured contracts with the majority of health care providers in the area, including nearly every major hospital, health system, and physician group - more than 1,100 practitioners, 240 clinics, and 8 hospital locations - creating exceptional access for Alliance members.

For a map and more information visit the service area section of our website.