More than a year and a half after the implementation of a controversial medical device tax, the industry is still struggling in Massachusetts, experts say.
"I can't tell you how many of my former associates are unemployed," said Ronald Adams, who was laid off from Hologic.
Adams was the senior director for research and development for Hologic, but since he was laid off, he has been taking no salary while he tries to get his startup off the ground.
He said there are some jobs out there, but not many.
"What's out there are not ones that are particularly enticing," he said. "There's not that growth in the industry anymore which is creating good opportunities."
Tom Sommer, head of the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, said medtech companies are still trying to figure out the best way to operate under Obamacare.
"I think that companies are grappling not only with the medical device excise tax ... they're also dealing with a new health care environment," he said. "I haven't seen job growth at all in the last year or so."
Still, a report released last week said that most of the 15 biggest medical device companies in the world continued to hire. The problem, Adams said, is the small- and medium-sized companies are not seeing the same growth.
Implemented to help pay for part of the Affordable Care Act, that 2.3-percent excise tax on most medical devices has been controversial and was opposed by many before it went into effect. According to some reports, medical device companies have paid $1.4 billion to the IRS.
Companies are also becoming more conscious of cost, because providers often do not want to pay for the newest — often more expensive — treatments and equipment.
Sommer called it "a new cost-conscious environment."
Because of changes like these, the funding for new medical device startups has fallen dramatically.
A report by the Evaluate Group found that venture funding for medtech companies in 2013 was the lowest in five years.
"When I moved here (in 1995), I could give you a list of 30 medical device startups. Now you could count them on one hand," Adams said. "With all the changes that have happened, the venture community doesn't invest in medical device startups anymore."
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