MIM CORP. Elmsford, New York Move To Specialty Drugs Proves The Right Rx For Benefits Manager.(THE NEW AMERICA)

Byline: MARILYN ALVA

When Mim Corp. recently signed on as the specialty drug and services provider for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in western Pennsylvania, company execs were thrilled.

No matter that only 1% of Highmark's 1.9 million members will likely need Mim's services.

To Mim, a relatively small pharmacy benefit management firm with $457 million in revenue last year, 1% represents a mighty big number.

It translates into 19,000 patients with chronic conditions. Mim gets to oversee those members, providing them with expensive drugs and related services.

The new members, who each spend about $1,000 a month on drugs, are the bane of cost-conscious managed care companies. But they're the lifeblood of the small army of firms that specialize in high-cost members.

"Taking care of the chronically ill is the highest expenditure in an HMO," said Mim Chief Executive Richard Friedman. "Not a lot of companies are set up to handle them, which is our opportunity."