CMHC Systems Announces Acquisition Letter of Intent Signed Today to Acquire Assets, Operations of Medipay, Inc.

Business Editors & High Tech/Medical Writers

DUBLIN, Ohio--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 7, 2001

CMHC Systems, Inc., a leading provider of information technology and business solutions to the healthcare and human services industries, announced today that it has executed a Letter of Intent to acquire the assets and operations of Medipay, Inc.

Under the agreement, the workforce, contracts, technology, and general facilities of the Portland, Oregon-based software company will become part of CMHC Systems. Medipay's software product, the Behavioral Care Management System (BCMS) will be added to CMHC's expanding product line. Medipay has customers in North Carolina, Kansas, and Hawaii. This expansion will bring CMHC's customer base to over 500 healthcare and human service agencies in 43 states.

The acquisition of Medipay continues CMHC Systems' major expansion in recent months. In addition to many new customers, CMHC Systems has also announced strategic partnerships with several powerful industry leaders. Strategic alliances have been formed with EMR Legal, Inc., Microsoft Great Plains, Spherion Technology Architects, and Conundrum Communications, Inc., among others, solidifying CMHC Systems' position as a total solutions provider. The BCMS software complements this rapidly growing product line and provides access to new segments of the behavioral healthcare marketplace, including an Internet-based version where CMHC Systems is the Application Service Provider (ASP). "The ASP model of software delivery via the Internet will provide sophisticated information system capabilities to smaller agencies as well as those who choose not to maintain an in-house server," said John Paton, president and CEO of CMHC Systems.

According to Paton, this acquisition is an important step in CMHC Systems' growth, "As we became more familiar with the BCMS, I gained a great deal of respect for Medipay's design and technology. This is a solid product with great potential. The BCMS software and the skills we are acquiring with it add significantly to our range of products, strengthening CMHC Systems and extending our reach to other behavioral health market segments. As we expand the scope of CMHC Systems, our flagship product, the CMHC/MIS, heads up an impressive offering of technology and business solutions that will meet the needs of a wide spectrum of behavioral health and human services providers."

David Nelson, Medipay's Chief Technology Officer, is the designer and architect behind the BCMS. He is excited about the future as part of CMHC Systems: "We built the BCMS around a solid core of object-oriented architecture, and therefore it is readily adaptable to the ASP model and expanded applications within behavioral health. Combining with CMHC Systems gives us the opportunity to extend the BCMS to new levels of functionality. CMHC's commitment to our customers is an important aspect of this deal. We are confident that we can continue the same high quality of service and support in the future."

Paton adds, "While many businesses are shrinking these days, CMHC Systems is growing. The past 12 months we have seen record sales, a doubling of development resources, new strategic alliances, the successful launch of a national corporate magazine, One -- The Integration of Healthcare & Technology, certification of our software meeting the requirements of four of the standard HIPAA transactions, and critical acclaim for our HIPAA education series, HIPAA Road Map -- How Do I Get There From Here?"

It is expected that the acquisition will be finalized in early December 2001, at which time the BCMS, Medipay employees, contracts, and general facilities will be formally incorporated under the CMHC Systems banner.

Medipay, a Microsoft(R) certified solution provider, was established in 1983 to provide information technology products for behavioral healthcare providers, and is used today by managed care and service delivery organizations in both public and private sectors.

CMHC Systems has been a recognized leader in the development and delivery of information technology to the healthcare and human services industries for more than 22 years. With its close integration of clinical, service, financial, and administrative information, the CMHC/MIS provides operational and decision support through total management of information. It interfaces with major network architectures and third party products. CMHC has helped provide information management solutions to more than 500 agencies, in 43 states, and 30,000 end users.

For more information about CMHC Systems' acquisition plans, contact General Manager Andy Marfurt at [e-mail], or Director of Marketing Karen Chrestay at [e-mail]. For general inquiries, write to us at 570 Metro Place North, Dublin, Ohio, 43017; call 800-434-CMHC; fax [phone]; or visit www.cmhcsystems.com.