Karen Ravitz, JD

(Ex Officio)

• Health Care Policy Advisor, Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders

Karen Ravitz serves as the Health Care Policy Advisor for the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders. Karen is an attorney who has been involved in health care issues for over 18 years. For over three years she was the Associate Director of the Government Affairs Department at the American Physical Therapy Association. She has a working knowledge of the regulations that apply to physical therapists and has conducted seminars and sessions teaching physical therapists and physical therapy students issues related to the profession, including fraud and abuse and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provisions. During her time at the American Physical Therapy Association, Karen was instrumental in obtaining coverage for the use of electrical stimulation for the treatment of wounds.

Prior to her work at the American Physical Therapy Association, Ms. Ravitz was the Director of Government Affairs for the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel as well as at ASCO Healthcare (now Genesis Health Ventures). She also has worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant. Ms. Ravitz has an extensive background in issues surrounding durable medical equipment and has published several articles related to the coverage of wound care supplies as well as enteral nutrition. She also has spoken at several conferences, including MEDTRADE, on Medicare reimbursement and durable medical equipment related issues. Karen earned her law degree from the University of Baltimore and her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ms. Ravitz is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation where she teaches a course on Healthcare Law and Ethics. She is currently a consultant.