Aetna Wins Department of Defense Tricare Contract

HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) today announced that it has been awarded the TRICARE managed care support contract for the North Region by the U.S. Department of Defense. Under the five-year administrative services contract, Aetna Government Health Plans will support health care delivery to approximately 2.8 million eligible beneficiaries who are active duty service members, retirees and family members based in the 21 states of TRICARE’s North Region.

“We are honored to be awarded this contract to serve our nation’s military personnel and their families”

“We are honored to be awarded this contract to serve our nation’s military personnel and their families,” said Ronald A. Williams, Aetna’s chairman and CEO. “Aetna looks forward to putting our leading clinical and technological capabilities to work in helping our military population access the best possible health care.”

Beginning April 1, 2010, Aetna Government Health Plans will be the Managed Care Support Contractor for beneficiaries in the North Region, which consists of Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky (except for Fort Campbell), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, and portions of Iowa and Missouri.

Susan M. Peters, president of Aetna Government Health Plans, added, “We’re eager to begin serving the beneficiaries of the TRICARE program and will immediately set our planned transition activities in motion, which tap into the extensive expertise of our current government businesses and our Military Health Care Advisory Committee. We intend to coordinate the best possible care to our military beneficiaries in the North Region.”

Aetna has been in business for more than 150 years building a reputation for excellence and integrity that is one of its most valued assets. The company has significant experience serving large, complex accounts, including currently serving approximately 80 percent of the Fortune 100, along with government and municipal accounts. Aetna has a rich history of government service, including serving the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) since 1961, paying the first-ever Medicare claim in 1966 and being one of the carriers selected for the first military contract under CHAMPUS (predecessor program to TRICARE) in 1985.

Currently, Aetna serves 320,000 federal enrollees in the FEHBP in 49 states and the District of Columbia, and provides dental coverage to approximately 200,000 federal enrollees worldwide through the Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program. Aetna offers Medicare products, including Part D, across the U.S. and the District of Columbia, serving nearly 741,000 members combined. The company also provides health care management services for Medicaid plans through its Schaller Anderson and Aetna Better Health subsidiaries. In January 2007, Aetna became the first national health plan to sign a participating provider agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for Aetna members, making all VA providers and facilities in-network participating providers for all health plans administered by Aetna.

About Aetna

Aetna 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, see www.aetna.com and Aetna's Annual Report at www.aetna.com/2008annualreport.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT; ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -- Certain information in this press release is forward-looking, including our expectations as to the start date and duration of the TRICARE health care contract and the number eligible beneficiaries covered by that contract. Forward-looking information is based on management's estimates, assumptions and projections, and is subject to significant uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Aetna's control. Important risk factors could cause actual future results and other future events to differ materially from those currently estimated by management, including the fact that under government procurement regulations the unsuccessful bidders for the North Region TRICARE health care contract have the right to appeal (or “protest”) the award of the contract to Aetna and that the contract is for five one year option periods and the government has the right to terminate the contract at the end of any of those periods. For more discussion of important risk factors that may materially affect Aetna, please see the risk factors contained in Aetna's 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and Aetna’s 2009 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 (Aetna’s Form 10-Q) on file with the SEC. You also should read Aetna’s First Quarter 10-Q for a discussion of Aetna's historical results of operations and financial condition.