REHABILITATION INSTITUTE AT SANTA BARBARA

Case Highlights

• Efforts led to payment in full to unsecured creditors
• Pursuit of Medicare appeals; over $1 million recovered

Case Narrative

Rehabilitation Institute at Santa Barbara (“RISB”) was a California non-profit medical rehabilitation center that provided in- and out-patient programs for people with disabling conditions.  As a result of a Medicare audit, RISB faced the potential denial of more than 300 claims totaling in excess of $2.9 million. This potential audit exposure, coupled with continuing operating losses, led RISB to decide that selling its assets to a local hospital was the best way to ensure its services to the community would continue.

DSI was engaged to conclude and wind down the RISB operations as well as continue to challenge the Medicare claims denials.  After the asset sale, the RISB board of directors appointed DSI professionals as the CEO and CFO, respectively, to manage the remaining operations of RISB.  To date, DSI has been able to pay all of RISB’s unsecured creditors in full and has successfully appealed more than 100 of the denied claims totaling more than $1.1 million.  DSI will continue to pursue the remaining Medicare appeals until all are resolved.  The remaining funds in the estate will be given to the RISB Foundation to continue to support its mission in the community.