Tactile Medical Appoints Jay Stracke as Vice President of Reimbursement and Payer Relations

MINNEAPOLIS, July 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tactile Systems Technology, Inc. (“Tactile Medical”) (Nasdaq: TCMD), a medical technology company focused on developing medical devices for the treatment of chronic diseases at home, today announced the appointment of Jay Stracke to the position of Vice President of Reimbursement and Payer Relations, effective July 15, 2019. Mr. Stracke will succeed Tactile Medical’s Senior Vice President of Reimbursement and Payer Relations, Mary (Maggie) Thompson, RN, who will retire from her full-time role and move into a part-time role as Vice President, Payer Initiatives.

“Jay is an incredibly knowledgeable and capable leader, who brings over 25 years of experience in healthcare policy, reimbursement, payer operations, health economics and marketing at leading global medical device companies and two government agencies, CMS and HHS,” said Gerald R. Mattys, Chief Executive Officer of Tactile Medical. “We are excited to welcome him to Tactile Medical and look forward to further enhancing the strategic expertise and operational excellence of our reimbursement operations and payer relations team under his leadership.”

“I would also like to thank Maggie for her years of hard work and leadership,” Mr. Mattys continued. “Her strategic guidance has been a driving force behind the development of our in-house reimbursement operations and payer relations team and the establishment of our expertise in this area, which has become a core area of marketplace differentiation for Tactile Medical. We appreciate her continued contributions to our team in this important new role.”

Prior to joining Tactile Medical, Mr. Stracke was Senior Director of Global Clinical and Health Economic Marketing at Smiths Medical, a leading global manufacturer of specialty medical devices focused on the medication delivery, vital care and vascular access market segments. At Smiths Medical, he established and led a new division to develop and support value-based marketing and sales strategies, as well as a new post-market value-based research team to improve scientific evidence and customer awareness of the company’s brand, products and patient value. Mr. Stracke has also held positions as Director of Government Affairs and Market Access for BIOTRONIK, Inc., Global Director of Health Economics and Reimbursement for Zimmer, Inc., and Senior Manager of Health Economics and Reimbursement for Guidant Corporation, where he developed and led the company’s first health economics and reimbursement team.

Prior to his career in the medical device industry, Mr. Stracke was the Deputy Director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Medicare Advantage Administration Group. He also worked as Medicare Policy and Budget Analyst at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Mr. Stracke holds a BBA in Business Administration from George Mason University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Oklahoma.

About Tactile Medical

Tactile Medical is a leader in developing and marketing at-home therapy devices that treat chronic swelling conditions such as lymphedema and chronic venous insufficiency. Tactile Medical’s Mission is to help people suffering from chronic diseases live better and care for themselves at home. The Company’s unique offering includes advanced, clinically proven pneumatic compression devices, as well as continuity of care services provided by a national network of product specialists and trainers, reimbursement experts, patient advocates and clinicians. This combination of products and services ensures that tens of thousands of patients annually receive the at-home treatment necessary to better manage their chronic conditions. Tactile Medical takes pride in the fact that our solutions help increase clinical efficacy, reduce overall healthcare costs and improve the quality of life for patients with chronic conditions.

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This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of words like “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” “confident,” “outlook” or “project” or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology.  The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties outside of the Company’s control that can make such statements untrue, including, but not limited to, the adequacy of the Company’s liquidity to pursue its complete business objectives; the Company’s ability to obtain reimbursement from third party payers for its products; loss or retirement of key executives; adverse economic conditions or intense competition; loss of a key supplier; entry of new competitors and products; adverse federal, state and local government regulation; technological obsolescence of the Company’s products; technical problems with the Company’s research and products; the Company’s ability to expand its business through strategic acquisitions; the Company’s ability to integrate acquisitions and related businesses; price increases for supplies and components; the effects of current and future U.S. and foreign trade policy and tariff actions; or the inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans. In addition, other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the Company’s filings with the SEC. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC’s website at The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.