New York Labor Health Care Alliance (NYLHCA) Endorses Aetna PPO Network and Medical Management Offerings

HARTFORD, Conn., April 24, 2009 — Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that it has been endorsed by the New York Labor Health Care Alliance (NYLHCA) as its PPO network and Disease Management vendor of choice, selecting the Aetna Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) health plan for NYLHCA members. The NYLHCA is a not-for-profit corporation that assists organized labor in the group purchasing of health care services. The alliance consists of 33 member organizations that cover more than 150,000 lives.  

Mark Modzeleski, Fund Administrator for the Sheet Metal Workers Local 38 and president of NYLHCA’s board, said, “NYLHCA’s decision to select Aetna as its PPO network and disease management vendor of choice was based on Aetna’s demonstrated commitment to providing tailored solutions, strong network financials, and a labor-dedicated member service model to our member funds.  Additionally, Aetna’s medical management capabilities, blended with their leading-edge online consumer tools, position them best to help our members and participating Health Funds achieve the most optimal physical and financial health, respectively.”

“We are excited and honored by the trust that the New York Labor Health Care Alliance has placed in us,” said Mark Bertolini, President of Aetna.  “By engaging the NYLHCA’s members in products and programs that can improve overall health, we can make a real contribution to the health and productivity of the New York communities they serve.” 

Aetna’s Open Choice PPO® offers members access to Aetna’s nationwide network of more than 767,000 health care professionals and 4,467 hospitals. 

“Aetna truly understands the Taft-Hartley marketplace, and what we are trying to accomplish,” said Anthony Potenza, Executive Director of NYLHCA.  “In addition to providing a strong national network and a preferred financial arrangement for claims and member service administration, members will benefit from Aetna’s medical management strategy, including the Aetna Health Connections^SM Disease Management program, which uses the CareEngine® System to help improve health care quality and patient safety.”
 
The CareEngine® System is a proprietary technology developed by ActiveHealth Management, a standalone subsidiary of Aetna.  “The CareEngine automatically integrates detailed, claims-driven information gathered across the health care spectrum – physician office visits, labs, diagnostic treatments and prescriptions – and compares this information against highly respected sources of medical literature,” explained Joe Scibilia, Aetna’s Taft-Hartley Market Head in the Northeast.  “If the system identifies an issue, it alerts individuals and their physicians about possible opportunities to improve care.  To date, the CareEngine has found more than 1.8 million opportunities to improve the quality of health care Aetna members receive.”

About NYLHCA
NYLHCA is a not-for-profit corporation that was established in 1993 to assist organized labor in the group purchasing of health care services.  NYLHCA has highly successful value-based purchasing programs for pharmacy, fiduciary, and overpayment recovery services. Today, NYLHCA members include 33 organizations’ health benefit plans covering more than 150,000 lives.

About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.5 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates.  For more information, see www.aetna.com.