Consultants

E. Ann Rose, President & Owner

Ann has been associated with the healthcare industry for over 35 years. After graduating from Rutherford Business College, she joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, the previous Medicare carrier for the state of Texas. Her professional experience began as a member of the Medicare acquisition team shortly after Blue Cross was awarded the Medicare contract in 1966. She was also instrumental in helping develop the HCFA 1500 claim form (now known as the CMS-1500 claim form) and assisted team members in creating the paperless claims processing system known today as electronic billing.

After forming Rose & Associates in 1980 with her late husband, Bill Rose, most of her time was devoted to obtaining certification for ambulatory surgery centers associated with ophthalmology practices. Ann's current efforts are spent assisting practices with their coding and reimbursement needs. She also serves as guest speaker at national ophthalmology meetings across the country.

Ann is editor and publisher of The Messenger, a coding and reimbursement newsletter, and a regular contributor to Administrative EyeCare. She is also on the editorial board of the Practice Management section of Ocular Surgery News. She is a contributing author to Compliance Issues in Ophthalmology published by Slack, Inc., and Guide to Coding and Reimbursement published by Ocular Surgery News. She recently co-authored Cash Flow, the Practice Art of Earning More From Your Ophthalmology Practice, and is a contributing author to the ABCs of ASCs, both published by the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators.

Professional Affiliations:

  • American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA)
  • American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives (AAOE)
  • American Academy of Procedural Coders (AAPC)
  • Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)
  • American College of Eye Surgeons (ACES)

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Heather B. Freeland, Director of Coding & Compliance

Heather has over 35 years experience in the health care industry, specifically Medicare. After graduating from the University of Miami in 1970 with a degree in biology, Heather began her professional career with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas in the Medicare division. She worked in reimbursement, quality assurance auditing, and post-payment medical review. She was also responsible for answering congressional inquiries from federal legislators. For the 8 years prior to joining Rose & Associates in 1996, Mrs. Freeland served as a Medicare Hearing Officer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

Heather's Medicare background has provided her with extensive knowledge of Medicare's legislative and regulatory guidelines. Her current duties include on-site chart audits, staff training seminars, and assisting clients with daily reimbursement issues such as refund requests, appeals and administrative law judge hearings.

Heather authors the reimbursement section of "In Your Practice," a regular column in the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA) Administrative Eyecare magazine. She contributes regularly to The Messenger, EyeWorld, Ophthalmology Management, Reimbursement and Coding Alert and Ocular Surgery News, and is a contributing author of Cash Flow, the Practice Art of Earning More From Your Ophthalmology Practice, published by the American Society Ophthalmic Administrators. Heather also serves as guest speaker at national ophthalmology meetings across the country.

Professional Affiliations:

  • American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators (ASOA)
  • American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives (AAOE)
  • Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)

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