Aetna Better Health and Connecticut Children's Medical Center Announce Network Agreement

HARTFORD, Conn., February 02, 2009 — Aetna Better Health, Aetna's Medicaid plan in Connecticut, and Connecticut Children's Medical Center today announced that they have reached an agreement that will include the medical center and the Faculty Practice Plan in the Aetna Better Health HUSKY network, which serves participants in Connecticut's Medicaid programs, HUSKY A and HUSKY B. 

The medical center and the Faculty Practice Plan also will join Aetna Better Health's Charter Oak network. 

"Clearly, the vast majority of our Aetna Better Health members are children, and we could not be more pleased to have reached an agreement with Connecticut Children's and the Faculty Practice Plan - one of the leading health care providers to children - so that our members can have in-network access to their services," said Rita Paradis, head of Aetna Better Health here in Connecticut. "While we will never stop working to enhance our network on behalf of our members, including Connecticut Children's in our network was a critical goal, and we are delighted to be working with the medical center and its care providers to ensure access to the children covered in Aetna Better Health plans."

The addition of the Faculty Practice Plan enhances the number of primary care physicians in the HUSKY network to 2,922 and the number of specialists to 4,020.

The agreement is effective immediately and will allow all children to access Connecticut Children's Medical Center and the Faculty Practice Plan for everything from routine primary care needs to emergency, acute and specialized care services on both an in- and out-patient basis. 

"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Aetna Better Health," said Martin J. Gavin, president and chief executive officer at Connecticut Children's. "We look forward to working together to ensure that the region's children receive the care they deserve."

Connecticut Children's joins 18 other Connecticut hospitals in the Aetna Better Health network here in Connecticut, including:  Bridgeport Hospital; Charlotte Hungerford Hospital; Danbury Hospital; Day Kimball Hospital; Greenwich Hospital; Hartford Hospital; Hospital of St. Raphael; Lawrence and Memorial Hospital; Manchester Memorial Hospital; Middlesex Hospital; New Milford Hospital; Rockville General Hospital; Sharon Hospital; St. Mary's Hospital; St. Vincent's Hospital; John Dempsey Hospital; Waterbury Hospital; and Yale New Haven Hospital.

About Aetna
Aetna (NYSE: AET) is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.2 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, go to www.aetna.com.

About Connecticut Children's Medical Center
Connecticut Children's is the region's only academic medical center dedicated exclusively to the care of children. Offering a full range of services for children from birth to age 18, Connecticut Children's brings quality care to children and families through 10 affiliated community hospitals and 16 practice locations. For more information, please visit www.connecticutchildrens.org.