Aetna to Provide Health Benefits to State of Maine Employees Beginning July 1

HARTFORD, Conn., June 29, 2012 — Aetna (NYSE: AET) recently announced it has been selected by the State Employee Health Commission for the State of Maine to administer the group health plan for its 33,000 members and their dependents. Beginning July 1, 2012, Aetna will manage the delivery of medical, pharmacy benefits and Stop Loss benefits for the State’s active employee and pre-65 retiree populations.

In conjunction with the administrative services contract, Aetna will work with health systems in Maine to build accountable care networks to support the employee plan. Aetna also expects to be able to leverage these relationships for other employers and consumers in the state.

“The Maine contract is a significant win for Aetna and a direct result of our ability to demonstrate that we are best positioned to deliver the expertise, solutions, and tools needed to help build the accountable care partnerships that continue to emerge between the State and the Maine provider community,” said Cain Hayes, president of Aetna’s Public & Labor business. “We will work in conjunction with the State to change the way health care is delivered in Maine, beginning with its employees and dependents, to drive down costs through better quality, more coordinated care.” 
 
Maine is an early adopter of the accountable care model, which uses technology and a team-based approach to care for a population of patients. In 2011, the State began contracting directly with providers organized as accountable care organizations. Since that time, it has identified additional partners with whom to innovate and has accelerated its ACO trajectory.

“Our partnership with Aetna is critical to realizing the State Employee Health Commission’s vision of improved health for its members and dependents. Aetna has the expertise, experience and technical infrastructure to robustly support the continuing development of our value based purchasing and ACO initiatives. They are a partner we feel we can count on to not only keep up with us, but to lead the way at times. We could not be happier with the support, assistance and leadership that Aetna has offered to date,” said Laurie Williamson, executive director of the State’s Employee Health & Benefits program.

Aetna has been actively investing in the technologies and capabilities needed to build a comprehensive accountable care solution, and has already announced collaborations with health systems in Arizona, Virginia and other geographies.

About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.1 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services and health information technology services. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.