HomeCare Experts

For updates on legislative and regulatory issues, the inside scoop from Washington and advice on better ways to run your business, check these exclusive HomeCare columns every month.

Accreditation Now

Mary Ellen Conway, RN, BSN, is president of Capital Healthcare Group, LLC, Bethesda, Md., which provides health care management expertise in accreditation preparation and survey follow-up, operations assistance, design of quality improvement programs and outcome measures. She can be contacted by phone at 301/896-0193 or through www.capitalhealthcaregroup.com.

Time to Renew

Many providers are due for accreditation renewal

The Bottom Line

Miriam Lieber is president of Lieber Consulting, Sherman Oaks, Calif., specializing in operations management and reimbursement for the HME industry. You can reach her at 818/789-0670 or by email at miriam@lieberconsulting.com.

Coping with Change

Automation, setting goals and accountability are keys to survival

Sales Notebook

Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. and the founder and director of the DSC Teleconference Series, a teleconference training program. He can be reached at www.DynamicSeminars.com or by phone at 954/435-8182.

Meeting Season

How to get the most out of your meeting and show budget

Washington Wit & Wisdom

A specialist in health care legislation, regulations and government relations, Cara C. Bachenheimer is senior vice president, government relations, for Invacare Corp., Elyria, Ohio. Bachenheimer previously worked at the law firm of Epstein, Becker & Green in Washington, D.C., and at the American Association for Homecare and the Health Industry Distributors Association. You can reach her by phone at 440/329-6226 or by e-mail at cbachenheimer@invacare.com.

A Blueprint for Success

Replacing competitive bidding is a real possibility if we all work together

AAHomeCare Update

Tyler J. Wilson is president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare, headquartered in Arlington, Va. He may be reached at tylerw@aahomecare.org. For more information on critical home care issues, visit the association's Web site at www.aahomecare.org.

Congress Cracks Down on Fraud

AAHomecare's new provider requirements established

Working Down Denials

Sarah Hanna is a reimbursement consultant and vice president of ECS Billing & Consulting, Tiffin, Ohio, and specializes in proper billing protocols, Medicare coverage guidelines and billing office procedures. She can be contacted at 419/448-5332 or sarahhanna@bright.net.

Working Down Denials

Don't forget the DIF when filing enteral pump claims

All Things Respiratory

Kelly J. Riley, CRT, RCP, is director, National Respiratory Network, for The MED Group, Lubbock, Texas, and currently serves on the Jurisdiction D Advisory Committee. You can reach her at 580/762-3500 or kriley@medgroup.com.

More RAD Requests

As the sleep community becomes more aware of the incidence of complex sleep apnea, HME providers are seeing more requests to distribute the E0471 respiratory

Compliance University

Neil B. Caesar is president of the Health Law Center (Neil B. Caesar Law Associates, PA), a national health law practice in Greenville, S.C. He also is a principal with Caesar Cohen Ltd., which offers compliance training, outsourcing and consulting and the author of the Home Care Compliance Answer Book. He can be reached By e-mail at ncaesar@healthlawcenter.com or by telephone at 864/676-9075.

No More Whistleblowers

"The 21 Benefits of an Effective Compliance Program" series continues

Law School

Jeffrey S. Baird, Esq. is chairman of the Health Care Group at Brown & Fortunato, P.C., a law firm based in Amarillo, Texas. He represents pharmacies, infusion companies, home medical equipment companies and other health care providers throughout the United States. Baird is board-certified in health law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He can be reached at 806/345-6320 or jbaird@bf-law.com.

Payment Sources Above and Beyond Competitive Bidding

Jeffrey S. Baird is chairman of the Health Care Group of Brown & Fortunato, a law firm based in Amarillo, Texas. He represents HME providers, pharmacies and other health care providers throughout the U.S. The following Q&A is about the importance of setting policies that cover an HME marketing expense budget and gifts.

Marketing Matters

Colette Weil is managing director of Summit Marketing, Mill Valley, Calif., a consulting firm specializing in strategic marketing and program development. You can reach her at cweil@summitmktg.com or 415/388-5303.

HME Under Siege

Six marketing lessons for survival

Retail 101

Jack Evans is president of Malibu, Calif.-based Global Media Marketing, an HME consulting firm specializing in retail sales, layout and operations. You can reach him at jevans@retailhomecare.com or 310/457-7333.

After Medicare

The future of HME lies in cash products

Washington Outlook

Seth Johnson is vice president of government affairs for Pride Mobility Products Corp. and is based in Washington, D.C. He is also the vice-chair of the AAHomecare Rehab and Assistive Technology Council. In his role with Pride, Johnson lobbies on Capitol Hill, the White House and CMS on major policy issues impacting rehab providers. Before joining Pride, Johnson was the vice president of government affairs for AAHomecare.

The Rush Is On

HME advocates target efforts in 2012 compressed Congress