Ahern Consulting Group

Ahern Consulting's mission is to ensure that our clients achieve and sustain the highest level of financial and operational excellence.

Ahern Consulting provides guidance to all health care providers, including physician groups and hospitals. We are experts with respect to general Medicare and Health Care Billing & Payment issues with a sub-specialization in reimbursement for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) dialysis facility and Nephrology services.

Ahern Consulting assists investors, medical device and pharmaceutical manufactures and other interested parties with understanding the healthcare market and how it is influenced by the consumer and provider preference, the regulatory environment and healthcare reform.

Types of Services Offered

Health Care Facility & Physician Reimbursement Audits

Management Consulting for Renal Dialysis Facilities

Medicare Cost Report Preparation

ESRD PPS Expanded Bundle Payment Optimization

Dialysis Facility Feasibility Studies

Healthcare Market Analysis

Primary Market Studies

Dispute Resolution and Litigation Support

Informative Presentations on Health Care Reimbursement & Reform

JACK AHERN, MBA - As a seasoned Health Care Executive, Instructor, Author and Financial Manager, Jack Ahern brings to the table expertise gained by managing finances for an academic medical center, and providing guidance to physicians, hospitals, HMO’s and major academic medical centers on issues pertaining to physician and hospital billing, hospital administration, strategic planning, renal dialysis reimbursement, HIPAA, ethics, regulatory issues and compliance.





Areas of Expertise:

Physician / Hospital Billing

CMS Regulations

ESRD and Nephrology Reimbursement

Health Care Market Studies

Medicare

Health Care Reform

Medicaid / Medi-Cal

Valuation of Health Care Entities

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Wendy Britton Knau, RN, CPC is a Certified Professional Coder and Nursing Expert Witness with over 26 years of experience in the health care field. Her expertise has been utilitzed in both civil (plaintiff and defense) and criminal cases.

Ms. Britton Knau has served as an expert and an investigator for Medicare and Medicaid audits and consulted with the US Department of Justice on various criminal matters. She has given lectures to many organizations throughout the country on topics including Coding, Medical Record Documentation, Government Compliance, and HIPAA Regulations.

Areas of Expertise:

• Medicare & Medicaid Fraud
• Medicare & Medicaid Regulation Compliance
• HIPAA Compliance
• Coding & Billing
• Medical Record Documentation & Review
• Renal Dialysis Nursing

View Consultant Profile.

Healthcare Litigation Support is a team of experts - physicians, healthcare administrators, reimbursement specialists, health organization experts, health insurance experts, and other healthcare personnel - with broad, extensive experience and expertise in medical and administrative malpractice issues, physician practice operations, hospital management, health insurance and TPA issues, Medicare and Medicaid, medical billing and collections, fraud and abuse, managed care and other areas.

Healthcare Litigation Support is a team of experienced healthcare experts who consult on litigation issues and testify as needed. In addition to the four Principals, there is a larger group of Associates, individuals with specific expertise and areas of knowledge, we include in order to fully serve the needs of the legal community.

Areas of Expertise:

Audit Medical Standards of Care Dental Standards of Care Geriatrics and Nursing Home Care Standards Long Term Care Standards Health Insurance Health Insurer-Provider Relations Managed Healthcare (HMO, PPO)

TPA (Third Party Administrator National Accreditation Guidelines Medicare / Medicaid Federal Employees Health Benefits Program CDH (Consumer Driven Health Plans) ERISA, COBRA, EMTALA, HIPAA Physician / Hospital Joint Ventures Qui Tam and False Claims Act

Representing Both Plaintiff and Defense, Our Services Include:

Review Case for Merit

Analyze Medical and Administrative Events

Identify Causation

Address Standards of Care

Research Relevant Literature

Interpret Contracts in Light of Industry Standards

Evaluate Case Strengths and Weaknesses

Develop Deposition Strategy

Prepare a Defensible Report

Articulate Complex Issues to Triers of Fact

During 30+ years of serving the Healthcare Industry, Mr. Blount has served more than 300 clients in 30 states in the areas of False Claims, Regulatory Compliance, Reimbursement, Damage Quantification, and Financial Management.

Mr. Blount is a Fellow and Certified Financial Professional in the Healthcare Financial Management Association, member of the American Institute & Georgia Society of CPAs, and National Association of Health Underwriters, and has been an Arbitrator for American Health Lawyers Association. He has been admitted as an expert in multiple US District and State Courts and Administrative Hearings, and has testified for plaintiffs and defendants, providers, payors and government clients.

A nationally recognized author, Mr. Blount has co-authored AMA’s best selling "Mastering the Reimbursement Process" book.

Expertise Includes:

Accounting APCs Business Damages Contractual Disputes Cost Reports DRGs ERISA

False Claims - Fraud HIPAA ICD & CPT Coding Insurance Rate Setting Self Disclosure Valuations

CV and Legal references provided upon request.

MRK Medical Consultants provides Medical-Legal Evaluations to help legal and insurance professionals reach appropriate conclusions about their client's situations. MRK provides a wide array of medical experts that offer objective review and analysis of personal injuries. Each stage of the process—research to review, analysis to opinion—is addressed in a comprehensive manner in order to help legal and insurance professionals reach appropriate conclusions about their client’s situations. MRK has over forty board certified physician specialists and many with subspecialty certifications. MRK provides physician experts to the entire State of California, the Reno/Lake Tahoe area and Las Vegas, and we travel to many areas of the United States. Physical therapy, registered nurses, physician assistant and billing review consultants are available services MRK provides. Oncall MD's in office daily to discuss your needs if you are unsure of what expert you need.

Edward W. Younger, III, M.D., Medical Director of MRK Medical Consultants, specializes in Orthopedic Surgery. He has extensive experience in total joint replacement, as well as reconstructive surgery of the knee, hip and shoulder. He was instrumental in bringing computer navigation technology to his hospital. He has served on the orthopedic trauma staff at Mercy San Juan Medical Center and serves on the Medical Executive Comitee at Mercy San Juan. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Society and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, a member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the California Orthopedic Association.


Dr. Michael R. Klein, Jr., M.D., specializes in Orthopedic Surgery and is a founding member and the first Medical Director of Northern California Orthopedic Centers. He is a senior member of the medical staff at Mercy San Juan Medical Center and was involved with the development of the orthopedic section of the Level II Trauma Center.

Dr. Klein is a clinical instructor at University of California, Davis, Medical Center, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and a member of the American Medical Association and the California Medical Association.

MRK's Areas of Expertise:

Orthopedics Neurosurgery / Neurology Rheumatology General surgery / trauma Emergency Medicine Internal Medicine Cardiology Geriatrics Sports Medicine RN Physical Therapy Chiropractic Orthopedics

Neuropsychology Podiatry Vascular Surgery Family Practice Anesthesiology Ophthalmology Optometry Urology Gastroenterology Infectious Disease Pulmonary Medicine Critical care Otolaryngology

Reed Tinsley, CPA has provided consulting services to physicians and physician related entities and their legal counsel for more than 20 years. A sampling of his services to physicians include all aspects of physician practice management and economics, managed care contract review / negotiation, profit growth strategies, strategic planning, practice merger facilitation, physician contract reviews, physician buy-ins/buy-outs, regulatory compliance, and litigation support.

Mr. Tinsley's litigation support specific services have included billing and collection reviews, medical practice or healthcare entity business valuation, lost profits analysis, covenant not to compete valuation, wrongful termination damage analysis, and overhead allocation reviews. He has also been engaged as a court appointed Special Master and Receiver.

Areas of Expertise:

Practice and Healthcare Entity Valuation

Economic, Financial and Statistical Analysis Expert Witness

Physician Economic Disputes

Billing, Collection, Accounts Receivable Reviews

Managed Care Contract Reviews

Office Sharing and Physician Compensation Overhead Allocations

Physician Contract Disputes

Lost Profits and other Damage Analysis / Calculations

Physician Regulatory Compliance

Reed Tinsley is a Houston-based CPA, Certified Valuation Analyst, and healthcare consultant. His entire practice is devoted to providing tax, accounting, and healthcare consulting services to physicians and their attorneys. Reed has published numerous articles in national and regional publications and is frequently asked to speak on a variety of health care topics, including capitation, revenue enhancement, and integration strategies. His articles have been published in the Journal of Medical Practice Management, MGMA Journal, Hospital Physician, Texas Medicine Family Practice Journal, and Group Practice Journal. Mr. Tinsley also serves on the Editorial Panel of Consultants for the publication Managed Care Contract Negotiator.

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