AMR to Cut Around 200 Jobs in California

Oct. 16--American Medical Response confirmed Wednesday that it will close a regional billing center in Salida and cut around 200 jobs.

A spokesman said the nation's largest ambulance company is decentralizing its billing operations and outsourcing the majority of those functions to Centrex Revenue Solutions, based in Maryland. The layoffs at the facility on Stoddard Road, near Bangs Avenue, will begin in late December, spokesman Jason Sorrick said.

The company notified employees Wednesday. Some of the jobs will move to two regional centers in Colorado and Ohio that Centrex will manage, Sorrick said. A number of local management employees will have an opportunity to work for Centrex, he said.

Assistance will be offered to help affected workers find other jobs. "We let them know early in the process so they have a longer period of time to seek opportunities for employment," Sorrick said.

The company said the higher costs of conducting business in California was a factor in the decision to close the billing operation. In July, AMR served notice that it would eliminate 120 positions in Torrance in Southern California next month.

The billing operation in Salida shares a site with AMR's Lifecom dispatch center, which will remain at that location. Employees have processed patient care and insurance information sent in from the field, checked it for accuracy and then billed insurance providers and government health programs. AMR has a lease on the building for three more years.

Staffing has been increased at a dozen billing centers, including those in Orange County and Arizona that provide services for AMR operations in 40 states. The partnership with Centrex will allow for developing a billing system that's integrated with a computer-assisted dispatch platform, the company said.

Jeff Rowe, director of Alliance Worknet, said AMR had yet to notify the agency about the job cuts. With rumors swirling the work was being outsourced to an overseas company, Rowe said that would make affected workers eligible for federal aid, such as cash assistance to help them relocate. But there was no confirmation any of the work would be handled overseas.

AMR is owned by Envision Health, a publicly traded company that also owns EmCare Holdings Inc., a leader in providing outsourced physician services for hospitals. The ambulance company has more than 19,000 paramedics, emergency medical technicians and other staff providing service to 2,100 communities in the U.S.

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or (209) 578-2321.

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