Speaker Bios
Dave Jakielo, MPM, BS, CHBME, Keynote Speaker, has
over 30 years of hands-on management experience. His background includes twelve years in hospital patient finance and, subsequently, over two decades of managing physician practices nationwide. Dave has been speaking, consulting and teaching business methods to managers, clerical staffs, business owners and other professionals throughout North America and in Europe and Asia. He has extensive experience in sales, marketing, customer service, business start-ups and turnarounds, due diligence process and acquisitions assimilation. He is the co-author of four books: The Sales Coach...Tips from the Pros; Information Technology for the Practicing Physician; Real World Customer Service Strategies; and Conversations on Success. Dave received his CHBME (Certified Healthcare Billing & Management Executive) in 1998. His professional membership includes being a past president of the Healthcare Billing & Management Association (HBMA). In addition, he is a past president of the National Speakers Association - Pittsburgh Chapter, and also holds membership in the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He was recently appointed as Public Director to the Radiology Coding Certification Board. Dave is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and received his Masters in management from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a certified trainer and has trained at the Buckley School of Public Speaking. Dave's Keynote Session will cover "Building, Motivating, and Rewarding a Winning Team." Attendees will learn to develop strategies to keep their team members motivated and learn 24 tips to create, retain, and reward a winning team. His second session will discuss Managing Multiple Generations & Accomplishing More Everyday." Our workplaces have employees spanning multiple generations, and we must learn new skills to effectively lead today's workforce. Attendees will learn how to successfully communicate, motivate, and lead each generation. Attendees will also learn tips and techniques that allow you to effectively prioritize, delegate, reduce stress, and eliminate clutter.
Robert W. Liles, JD, MBA, MS, BA, CPC, CMCO, General Session Speaker, has worked in regulatory compliance as a Federal prosecutor and as defense counsel, for more than 20 years. Robert has achieved an “AV” rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating that may be awarded to an attorney. He has also been rated “10.0” (out of a possible 10.0) by AVVO, a nationwide attorney rating service. Robert first began working in management after receiving a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and, subsequently, a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration. After graduating from law school, he was hired as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Southern District of Texas (SDTX). He was later promoted to serve as Chief of the Financial Litigation Unit for the SDTX. Shortly after the passage of HIPAA, Robert was asked to serve as the first National Health Care Fraud Coordinator and was later promoted to the position of Deputy Director, Legal Programs, for the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA). Robert’s work was recognized by DOJ and he was given numerous awards by the agency for his efforts, one of which was a “Director’s Award,” the highest award that can be bestowed by the agency. Since entering private practice, Robert has continued to build on his knowledge and experience in regulatory matters. Robert is a nationally recognized speaker and educator on legal and regulatory issues. Robert currently serves as outside General Counsel for the American Medical Billing Association and is recommended by numerous national associations and organizations to their members. Several years ago, Robert was asked by Practice Management Institute, one of the nation’s oldest health care administration educators, to develop the curriculum non-hospital Certified Medical Compliance Officers. Hear from attorney Liles on "The Liles Report" which will provide attendees with an update on the OIG's Annual Work Plan, changes and risks you need to be aware of, and other areas of concern for medical practices, billers, and billing companies. Robert's second presentation is titled "Clearinghouse Failures and Claims Submission Risks are Real - What's Your Liability?" Robert will also participate in our Guest Panel.
Paul Weidenfeld, J.D., B.A., General Session Speaker, is nationally recognized for his work in both the prosecution and defense of Healthcare Fraud investigations, False Claims Act cases and qui tam, or whistleblower, litigation. He has earned numerous awards including the prestigious Attorney General Award for Fraud Prevention and the Nightingale Outstanding Healthcare Litigator. A former Federal Prosecutor and Health Care Fraud Coordinator for the Executive Office of the Department of Justice, Paul has been representing providers and individuals in Healthcare Fraud matters since leaving the DOJ. Whether serving as a mediator, litigation consultant, or legal representative, Paul draws upon a broad range of experiences as a lawyer/litigator that includes over 50 trials, 25 appellate arguments, and appearances before the United States Supreme Court, Federal and State Appellate Courts, and Federal and State trial courts. Paul is the co-founder of Exclusion Screening, LLC, a start-up company that offers health care providers a simple, automated, and burden free way to fulfill their Federal and State exclusion screening obligations. Paul will be presenting, alongside Robert Liles, on "Clearinghouse Failures and Claims Submission Risks are Real – What’s Your Liability?"
Ashley Morgan, JD, BS, CMCO, CMRS, CEMA, Breakout Session Speaker, is an Associate Attorney at Liles Parker’s Washington, DC office where she focuses on regulatory health care compliance matters, fraud and abuse, and reimbursement issues. Ashley represents health care providers across the country in connection with a wide variety of health law issues including coverage disputes, documentation concerns, compliance, medical board complaints, and exclusion/termination issues. Ashley has handled claims disputes with major payors including Medicare, Medicaid, various BlueCross BlueShield entities, and UnitedHealthcare. She has extensive experience working on administrative appeals of large alleged extrapolated overpayments assessed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) contractors. Ashley helps clients implement effective compliance programs and provides counsel on mandatory state and industry-specific policies and procedures. Ashley earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the American University Washington College of Law in Washington, DC. Ashley received a Bachelor of Science from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Hear from Ashley on "Are You a Target for Medicare’s 3 Strikes Revocation Action?" In this presentation, attendees will learn Medicare's recent revocation actions and the possible impact on billers. Ashley will review the rules and regulations billers and their provider clients need to be aware of to ensure that they are not revoked and how to respond if a provider is revoked.
John Uecke, B.S., A.A.S., CMRS, CMCS, COE, CHBS, CHA, OHCC, CMCO, CMOM, SMIS, CPC, CPCO, CPB, CPMA, CPPM, OCS, OCS-R, CEMA, Breakout Session Speaker, began his career in healthcare in 2000 as the business manager of a small family medical billing company. Soon enough, John realized that to truly help his clients make and keep their money he needed to become proficient in not only revenue cycle management but medical coding, chart auditing, practice management, and all compliance related issues. Nineteen years and seventeen certifications later, John is now recognized as "someone with alphabet soup after their name" in the coding and billing industry. Providing insight to his clients and consulting with healthcare law firms and national healthcare industry associations. John's session will cover "Mastering Modifiers." Attendees will learn the proper application guidelines and limits of modifiers and how to identify situations where some of the most utilized modifiers are misused. John will discuss situations where modifier misuse qualifies as abuse and when this abuse is considered fraud. John will also participate in our Guest Panel.
Melody S. Irvine, CPC, CPMA, CEMC, CFPC, CPB, CPC-I, CCS-P, CMRS, CMCS, Breakout Session Speaker, has 38 years of experience in the medical profession. She is the founder of Career Coders Online Medical Billing and Coding School with a specialty in physician auditing. She also works for Optum as a Medicare Consultant. Her extensive background includes Director of Coding and Billing, Auditing, Compliance, Urgent Care and Billing for a forty-eight multi-specialty physician practice as well as a previous contract auditor for the State of Colorado Attorney General. She is a past member/officer of the AAPC National Advisory Board, currently serving on the AAPC Board of Directors, American Medical Billing Association National Advisory Board and honored with the AAPC Fellow designation. Her true passion is teaching and motivated by career challenges. She resides in Loveland, Colorado. Melody's first presentation will cover preparing for the CMCS Exam. Her second presentation is on the "Quandry of ABNs." Attendees will learn what happens after a failure to sign and ABN and the loss of income to providers it can cause. Melody will cover when to issue an ABN, who is responsible for having a signed ABN, how to complete an ABN, and terminology of initiation, reductions, and terminations that can affect issuing an ABN. Melody will also participate in our Guest Panel.
Shannon DeConda, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CMSCS, CPMA®, Breakout Session Speaker, is the Founder and President of the National Alliance of Medical Auditing Specialists (NAMAS) as well as the President of Coding & Billing Services and a Partner at DoctorsManagement, LLC. Ms. DeConda has over 16 years of experience as a multi-specialty auditor and coder. She has helped coders, medical chart auditors, and medical practices optimize business processes and maximize reimbursement by identifying lost revenue. Since founding NAMAS in 2007, Ms. DeConda has developed the NAMAS CPMA® Certification Training, written the NAMAS CPMA® Study Guide, and launched a wide variety of educational products and web-based educational tools to help coders, auditors, and medical providers improve their efficiencies. Ms. DeConda is an experienced presenter and educator and a sought-after speaker. She has her Coding Certification through both the AAPC and PAHCS. Shannon's first presentation will cover "The Importance of Billing Companies Auditing Their Clients." Her second presentation will cover "Copy, Paste, & Cloning: Rules v. Opinion." Shannon will also be participating in our Guest Panel.
Jodi Smith, LMSW, AHFI, CPC, CPCO, Breakout Session Speaker, is not only a certified coder through AAPC but also a healthcare fraud investigator, coding educator and licensed social worker. Her twenty-plus years of experience include health care fraud investigations, auditing and consulting with physician practices, teaching coding curriculum and working as a hospice and medical social worker. Jodi will be presenting on "Getting to Know the Special Investigations Unit (SIU)." This session will cover understanding the most common types of audits, reviews, and investigations conducted by the SIU. Jodi will discuss why payers conduct audits and investigations and walk attendees through the process. She will identify other departments within a payer organization that may conduct audits, and she will discuss ways to respond to audits, as well as, how NOT to respond.
Judy A. Wilson, CPC, COC, CPCO, CPC-P, CPB, CPPM, CANPC, CMRS, CMCS, Breakout Session Speaker, has been involved in healthcare for over 40 years with experience in coding and billing, consulting, education, practice management and compliance She served as the Business Administrator for Anesthesia Specialists for 26 years, a group of eleven cardiac anesthesiologists who practice at Sentara Heart Hospital. Judy is now self-employed doing education training for compliance, anesthesia billing, practice management, consulting and auditing. Judy has written several articles for national publications including Healthcare Business Monthly, HCPRO/Just Coding. Judy has presented at several of the AAPC’s national and regional conferences and several of the AMBA’s conferences. Judy has spoken at many Local Chapter meetings across the country. Judy is also an AAPC workshop and webinar presenter. She is an AAPC Approved Instructor, an AAPC ICD-10-CM/PCS Training Expert, and she served on the AAPC Chapter Association Board of Directors from 2010 -2014 and again from 2015-2017. Judy had the honor of being the Chair of the Hardship Scholarship Committee. She continues to stay involved in keeping the Hardship Fund available for all members in need. Judy serves on the National Advisory Board for the American Medical Billers Association (AMBA). Judy will be presenting on preparing for the CMRS Exam.
Brenda Edwards, CPC, CDEO, CPB, CPMA, CPC-I, CEMC, CRC, CMRS, CMCS, has been involved in the healthcare arena for over 30 years with experience in chart audit, coding and billing, education, consulting, practice management and compliance. She has worked closely with practices, providers and residency programs to ensure documentation is compliant and accurate. Brenda has written many articles for national publications including Healthcare Business Monthly, American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and BC Advantage. Her humorous and engaging presentation style has made her a conference favorite at both national and regional conferences for AAPC as well as local chapter meetings across the country. Brenda is also an AAPC workshop and webinar presenter. Brenda became a Certified Professional Coding Instructor (CPC-I) in 2001 and has assisted countless students to obtain their coding credentials through the AAPC Professional Medical Coding Curriculum. She is also an AAPC ICD10-CM/PCS Training Expert. She served on the AAPC Chapter Association Board of Directors from 2010-2014 and held office as Chair. She has been intimately involved in the development and continuation of the Hardship Scholarship Program for AAPC. Mentoring fellow members of AAPC is a passion for her. She is the co-founder of the North East Kansas (NEKAAPC) AAPC chapter and has served many offices. Brenda will be speaking on "HCC Coding, Risk Adjustment, and Physician Income: What You Need to Know."
Mori West, CPC, Breakout Session Speaker, is the owner of Acuclaims/Chiroclaims and Mori West Seminars. Acuclaims/Chiroclaims provides billing services nationally to Acupuncturists and Chiropractors. Mori West Seminars provides continuing education seminars on insurance billing, practice management, and proper documentation. Mori's session will cover "Insurance Billing for Acupuncturists & Chiropractors." Attendees will learn about the various carrier policy bulletins and when a patient's benefits follow a policy bulletin and when they do not. Attendees will also learn medically necessary conditions (and how to code them) for treatment and how to code for time-based procedures.
David Martinez, CMRS, CMBS, CCPB, CCBS, CPC-P, CPC-I, CCA, CBCS, CCPC, CMB, CHP, Breakout Session Speaker, is the owner and CEO of Accurate Medical Billing and Audit, a highly successful Medical Billing and Audit Company located in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Accurate Medical Billing and Audit is the only medical billing service authorized to teach ethical billing and coding to doctors for their continuing education. David is the Co-Chair of the Managed Care and Insurance Committee of the California Chiropractic Association. He talks on many insurance issues, such as AB1455, ACA, HMO, and PPO in a no-nonsense fashion. Mr. Martinez has been instrumental in setting up Revenue Recovery, Claims, 3rd Party Liens, Eligibility, Capitation, and Customer Service Departments within the most prestigious Medical Groups, Independent Practice Associations, Physician Health Organizations, Management Services Organizations, and hospitals throughout Southern California. David was consistently among the top 1% of all claims examiner's nationwide for production, quality, and mentoring during his days at Aetna. David's session will cover "Need to Know Rules for Appealing Denied Claims." This session will provide you with the rules for appealing improperly denied claims: when, how and where to appeal claims, the rules payers must follow and how to determine if you should file a grievance or an appeal. You’ll leave this session armed with information you can put to work when you get back from the conference.
Tom Campana, Breakout Session Speaker, has owned a successful medical billing business for 18 years. He was previously the Northeast Regional Sales Manager for a national computer wholesale manager. Tom will be presenting on "Starting a Successful Billing Business." In this introductory session, attendees will learn how to market to providers and land clients. Topics covered inlcude finding prospects, managing prospects, ways to market your services to prospects, following up after initial marketing attempts, how to handle a pre-meeting call with the doctor or office manager, and how to handle your meeting with the doctor to discuss your fees and contract.
Constance A. Askins, A.A.S., RHIT, CPC, CPB, Breakout Session Speaker, is an enthusiastic educator and a business owner. As a professional program educator, she is an adjunct faculty member at Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in Ozark, Arkansas. Constance has provided general healthcare instruction with a concentration in medical billing and coding training across the River Valley area. Additionally, she has been successful within the healthcare industry for over ten years. More than five of those years have focused on the revenue cycle. Mrs. Askins holds an Associate’s Degree of Applied Science in Health Information Technology from ATU. Constance volunteered with the local AAPC chapter as the 2017 Member Development Officer and as the 2018 Chapter President. In her personal time, she has spent the last two years volunteering for the River Valley Out of the Darkness Community Walk in support of suicide prevention. Constance's session will cover "Intro to Provider Enrollment with Insurance Carriers." Attendees will learn the steps needed to successfully set up a CAQH profile and how to enroll a provider with Medicare through PECOS. Contstance will show attendees how to find contacts at commercial carriers when working on a provider's credentialing/contracting.
Jonathan Domingo, CPC, CMRS, CHAM, Master of Ceremonies, is the owner of JMD Enterprise LLC and an Instructor at the University of Hawaii's Leeward Community College – Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Development (OCEWD). A founding member of the Hawaii State Chapter of AMBA, Jonathan holds multiple credentials including the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), Certified Medical Reimbursement Specialist (CMRS) from the American Medical Billing Association (AMBA) and Certified Healthcare Access Manager (CHAM) from the National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM). Jonathan has over 22 years of experience as a medical biller and coder with a wealth of knowledge of the revenue cycle process, EHR and Practice Management Systems implementation, and training as well as billing and coding auditing experience.