Aetna (Aetna Inc.) is a large provider of employee health-care benefits in the United States. It is the direct descendant of Aetna Insurance Company, of Hartford, Connecticut, which issued its first life insurance policy in 1850, a full thirty years after it had been chartered to enter the business. Aetna also has a substantial presence in the property insurance, casualty insurance, and surety bond markets. Breaking up is hard to do, but managed health care provider Aetna is finding it less painful than togetherness. The company has radically restructured its operations by selling the Financial Services division and its international businesses to Dutch insurer ING Groep, making Aetna strictly a health and related benefits company. The company now provides managed care benefits, and dental, pharmacy, vision, and group insurance coverage. Aetna covers more than 13 million individuals under its health plans, nearly 11 million dental plan members and more than 12 million group insurance members. Aetna recently settled a class-action lawsuit with over one million physicians in the amount of over 700 million dollars over racketeering charges.

Mergers

In 1996, Aetna merged with U.S. Healthcare .

Financials

2003 Sales (mil.) $17,976.4
1-Year Sales Growth (9.6%)
2003 Net Income (mil.) $933.8
2003 Employees 27,600

Key People

• Chairman and CEO John Wallis (Jack) Rowe
• SVP and CFO Alan M. Bennett
• SVP and Chief Information Officer Wei-Tih Cheng

Former

• CEO: William H. Donaldson

Diversity

Aetna was one of only 11 companies to earn a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index in 2002, the first year of the survey. It has maintained this rating in 2003 and 2004.

See also

• managed health care

External link

• Aetna corporate website, with a good brief company history.