Strategic Reimbursement Group keeps Medicare Cost Report at heart of their service offering

Strategic Reimbursement Group, LLC is a Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party reimbursement consulting firm focused on ensuring compliance while maximizing cash flow for healthcare providers across the country. STRATEGIC was founded in Chicago in 1975, only 10 years after the introduction of Medicare.  Forty-seven years later, the Medicare Cost Report remains at the heart of their service offering as they continue to prepare and/or review more than 200 cost reports annually nationwide.

STRATEGIC’s product offering begins with the Medicare and Medicaid Cost Reports and has evolved over the years to encompass every area of reimbursement touching or related to the cost report and beyond.  Currently, STRATEGIC's full range of reimbursement services include:

• Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and Blue Cross Cost Report preparation and/or review
• Prior-year Cost Report compliance / recoupment review
• Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) and Low-Income Patient (LIP) calculations for current and prior years
• Medicaid / state DSH and UPL payment calculations
• Medicare Worksheet S-10 (Uncompensated Care) preparation / review
• Medicare bad debt log preparation / review for current and prior years
• Wage index calculation and occupational mix survey
• Third-party balance sheet reserve analysis and contractual adjustment computation
• Square footage analysis
• Interim Director of Reimbursement (IDOR)
• PRRB appeal services, including individual and group appeals

STRATEGIC does not view itself as an outsider but rather as an extension of their client’s reimbursement team, providing a single source of expertise in the development of a strong third-party program. STRATEGIC prides itself on providing hospital leadership with the necessary resources to meet their organization’s reimbursement needs, whether this is limited to annual cost report preparation or complete management of day-to-day reimbursement activities. It is their goal to become an integrated part of your team to ensure compliance while maximizing your third-party reimbursement program.  More importantly, STRATEGIC seeks to work “with” rather than “for” its clients, and they believe this approach has helped them be successful with many of clients staying with them for 20, or even 30, years.

STRATEGIC’S corporate headquarters is currently located in Elmhurst, IL, with satellite offices in Denver, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Nashville, and Phoenix.  STRATEGIC currently serves over 150 hospital clients across the country on an annual basis. Its client base consists of acute care hospitals, critical access facilities, sole community hospitals, teaching / research hospitals, home offices, skilled nursing facilities, hospice facilities, psychiatric facilities, rehabilitation facilities, home health agencies, and both proprietary and not-for-profit integrated chain organizations.  The hospitals range in size from under 15 beds (STRATEGIC assisted a six-bed hospital in rural Alaska to become Medicare-certified) to over 900 beds with many having their own in-house third party staff and/or department.

In addition, STRATEGIC is an active partner and presenter for various trade groups including Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), the American Hospital Association (AHA), and the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA).

STRATEGIC's Mission

To collaborate with hospitals and other healthcare providers by serving as a single source of expertise for all reimbursement related issues, while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations, to achieve the maximum reimbursement to which the provider is legally entitled.

STRATEGIC's Approach

Their approach is specific to each hospital, and their unique circumstances.  STRATEGIC will take the time to evaluate every available opportunity and discuss operational strategies to ensure proper reimbursement while meeting the needs of your community.

Critical Access, Sole Community & Rural Hospitals

STRATEGIC is the nation’s leading expert in critical access hospital and related cost reimbursement services. They take a fundamentally different approach to serving their clients.

• They do not rely on a leverage model
• They do not look at cost reports as a clerical function
• They do not hire inexperienced college graduates

At STRATEGIC, the average age of their consultants is over 40 years old, and many team members are “cross-trained” in multiple areas to give them a better understanding of the totality of the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement systems.  This depth of technical experience and understanding, when brought together for the benefit of their clients, creates a powerful, comprehensive third-party approach that ensures their clients remain fully compliant while not “leaving any money on the table” in any category.

"It is our pleasure to be a Blue Partner with ICAHN and to help support critical access hospitals that are such an important part of healthcare in this country," said Bob Gienko, President and Partner, Strategic Reimbursement Group LLC.