182 jobs cut as 2 medical firms close

Diabetic care goods were sold

Two medical supply companies are closing their South Florida locations and terminating 182 jobs, their parent company told the Florida Office of Economic Opportunity.

Arriva Medical LLC is closing its plant at 4252 NW 120th Ave. in Coral Springs and laying off 142 workers; American Medical Supplies is shuttering its store at 751 Park of Commerce Drive, Boca Raton, and releasing 40 employees, management said in letters to the state this week.

The terminations will take effect Dec. 31, according to the notices.

Both companies provide testing equipment and supplies to Medicare members with diabetes.

Arriva Medical serves more than 500,000 Medicare beneficiaries nationally through the Medicare National Mail Order Diabetes Testing Supplies program, according to a fact sheet on the company’s website.

Terminated positions include 19 customer service representatives, 19 reorder representatives, 10 sales representatives, eight sales support specialists, seven telesales representatives and 94 other positions including management, accounting, order processing and telemarketing.

American Medical Supplies operated retail stores in Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach until consolidating into the Boca Raton location more than a year ago, said Lawrence Dickson, the company’s vice president and managing employee.

Both companies are owned by Alere, a Waltham, Mass.-based manufacturer recently acquired by Abbott Laboratories.

In October 2016, Arriva Medical’s Medicare billing number was revoked for three years after the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services determined the company had billed for items and services for deceased Medicare beneficiaries, according to the medical news website 360dx.com. In May, Alere announced it had lost its appeal of the revocation.

Asked why American Medical Supplies was closing, Dickson said, “We’re just not profitable.” The company will close Nov. 30, according to a notice on its website.

Terminated positions include eight medical records clerks, 13 customer service representatives and seven billing assistants.

Arriva Medical will no longer accept orders after Nov. 30, its website states.

Both notices tell customers they can continue receiving diabetes testing supplies through the mail and Medicare will pay 80 percent if they are provided by a supplier that contracts with Medicare.

To find a Medicare supplier, patients can visit Medicare.gov/supplier, enter their ZIP code and click “go,” then select “Mail-Order Diabetic Supplies” and click “search” at the bottom of the page. Patients can also call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227.

Patients can find a new supplier for equipment on the Medicare website.