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Frequently Asked Questions about APHA Memberships, Benefits, Cost, and More

You may find answers to your questions here.  If not, we invite you to contact us.

Application and Membership

The short answer is YES.
But there may be differences in qualifications for various levels of members, as follows:

Premium +ADL Members and Umbra Associate Members:
Since these members are listed in the Umbra Health Advocacy Directory for patients to find them and hire them, membership is not automatic. We review all applications to be sure the individual or organization meets our criteria for listing. We don’t want patients to question the listings they find in the directory. Quality is more important than quantity.

•  Choose the right membership for you.

•  Apply for an APHA membership.

Take a look to see for yourself. We have built virtual tours so you can see what’s available to our members.

•  Link to the Premium Tour.

•  Link to the PACE Tour.

If you are still trying to decide which membership to apply for, here’s a side-by-side comparison of the benefits and tools accessible to each.  

A simple description of each membership is found here.  Or, a more thorough examination of the benefits of each membership can be found in this side-by-side comparison

Directory Listing FAQs

The Umbra Health Advocacy Directory is a listing where patients and caregivers can search for advocates to help with any aspect of the healthcare system. 

A directory listing starts with a Premium +ADL membership or Umbra Associate membership in the the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates. It also requires that you meet the requirements for being listed. The goal is to maximize the chances that a patient or caregiver searching the directory will find an effective advocate for their situation.

You will have control over all aspects of your listing except for testimonials. We require testimonials to come directly from someone you have worked with. They submit them, then we approve them by confirming they came from real clients, if necessary.

Testimonials may be included on Umbra Health Advocacy Directory profiles. To be sure they are genuine, they must be added by patient-clients themselves.

Each listed advocate’s individual directory listing includes a form that allows clients to comment on the work the advocate did for them, and rate them with up to 5 stars.  Upon receipt and validation of comments, we publish the testimonial / endorsement on the advocate’s behalf.

Dues, Fees, Upgrades & Renewals

Yes. Premium and Premium +ADL applicants will find their year one membership dues reduced if they belong to or are students of many of our affiliated organizations.

Dues for new members are due as soon as the application is received. Upon submission, the applicant is taken to a payment page.

As renewal dates come closer, members receive a series of renewal notices beginning 30 days prior to expiration.

In all cases, once membership dues have been paid (by credit card), members gain access to the many benefits available to them immediately. 

PACE members may upgrade at any time, as follows:

Log into your Membership Dashboard and find a link on the right to UPGRADE YOUR MEMBERSHIP. Your dues will be adjusted according to how much time has passed since you paid for your previous membership. You’ll be credited for unspent dues.

We do not allow membership downgrades.

Yes, we will make an adjustment to your new dues when you upgrade from PACE to Premium or Umbra Associate Membership. To do so, we apply a portion of your already-paid dues to your new cost for membership. The amount will be simple math. For example, if half your membership has passed,, then half the amount you paid will be applied to your upgraded membership – which will then run for its full timeframe.

First year PACE memberships and Premium memberships last for one year. You can find your renewal date from your membership dashboard, by linking to Manage Your Account > scroll down to your Personal Account Information and choose Subscriptions.

PACE members renew for six months as many times as they would like. Premium, Premium +ADL, and Umbra Associate members renew for one year (also as many times as they would like.)

About one month prior to your renewal date, you’ll receive a first notice telling you it’s time to renew.  You’ll receive additional reminders throughout the 30 days leading to your expiration date.

There are no automatic renewals. You must intentionally renew using the link provided in your renewal email.

We will refund 50% of your dues if you make your refund request within 30 days of your dues payment. After 30 days, we provide no refunds.

If we make the refund through Stripe, we will charge a service fee to cover the fees Stripe charges us ($5 for PACE refund, $10 for Premium refund).  If we must make the refund via check, there will be also be a $15 service and handling fee.

We’re sorry this refund cannot be more generous. In the past we refunded 100% (minus fees) but, unfortunately, found people who would take advantage of us. They would join, download the information they wanted, then ask for a refund. For obvious reasons, we had to make sure that would not happen again.

There are no additional fees for any of the benefits listed on this master list.

We do offer some training or mentoring programs that may include other charges. 

Miscellaneous FAQs

Absolutely not! Advocates come from many backgrounds, and patients need many skills and services to help them. Nurses and other clinical professionals are welcome and needed as advocates, of course! But it is not necessary to be a nurse to be successful. Learn more about the background needed to be an effective and successful patient advocate.

No. We do not accept advertising at this time. 

Members may submit news and resources. Find the “In the News” request form linked from your Member Dashboard.

If you have ideas for additional services you would like to see or take advantage of, please contact us and we’ll review them to see if they make sense for inclusion with the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates membership packages. Our best ideas come from our members! So we look forward to hearing from you.

Do you have additional questions – something we have not covered here? 

If so, we invite you to contact us.

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