HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2005--The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today recognized Aetna (NYSE:AET) for its efforts to provide information and useful resources to help members make better-informed decisions about their health care.

NCQA, a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of health care, named Aetna as an "Early Adopter" of Member Connections, the first segment of NCQA's new Quality Plus standards.

"The Member Connections standards measure how effectively health plans provide consumers with tools and information to guide quality decision-making," said William C. Popik, M.D., Aetna's Chief Medical Officer. "We applaud NCQA for setting new quality standards that meet the needs of the swiftly changing health care marketplace."

The Member Connections standards (http://www.ncqa.org/Programs/Qualityplus/index.htm) allow NCQA to recognize innovative, market-leading health plans in areas such as:

• leveraging the Web to help members with chronic conditions manage their care and improve outcomes,
• allowing members to track claims online,
• adopting innovative health management programs and providing access to high-quality health care,
• providing tools for members to assess and maintain their health, such as health risk appraisals.

The standards apply to Aetna on a national basis because the activities considered by the standards occur across all accredited Aetna health plans. As an Early Adopter, Aetna is among the first health care plans to agree to be surveyed under the new standards. Additionally, Aetna supported their development by participating in NCQA's pilot evaluation project. The next step is to undergo formal evaluation on the finalized standards later this year.

"Aetna participated in our pilot review of the standards, and it's clear that they have strong processes in place to address issues that consumers care about," stated Margaret E. O'Kane, NCQA President. "Aetna's commitment to having all 21 of its plans reviewed against these standards speaks to their dedication to keeping their members aware and informed."

"As more and more employers adopt the emerging consumer-directed benefit model, it is increasingly important to provide health plan members with objective assessments of the services they use most in making decisions about their health care," said Charles M. Cutler, M.D., National Medical Director for Quality Management at Aetna. "Meeting the Member Connections standards criteria demonstrates Aetna's commitment to leveraging our technology and our information resources in innovative ways that help our members make informed decisions about their health care and provide them with a best-in-class service experience."

Aetna embraces a commitment to quality, as evidenced by the importance placed on achieving National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Accreditation. Nationally, of the 20 Aetna plans surveyed by NCQA, all have met NCQA's rigorous standards as of December 2004, and a review is pending on a 21st plan. Nineteen Aetna HMO and POS plans evaluated by NCQA have received "Excellent" ratings, the highest accreditation rating possible.

As one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its approximately 13.6 million medical members, 11.6 million dental members, 8.3 million pharmacy members and 13.3 million group insurance members to help them make better informed decisions about their health care and protect their finances against health-related risks. Aetna provides easy access to cost-effective health care through a nationwide network of more than 646,000 health care professionals, including over 385,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 3,908 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of September 30, 2004)

CONTACT:
Aetna
Susan Millerick, 860-273-0536
millericks@aetna.com