Aetna, Shore Health System, Sign New Agreement.

LINTHICUM, Md. -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that it has signed a new two-year agreement with Shore Health System Inc., adding Shore's facilities and physicians to its network on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

"Aetna is delighted to be able offer our members access to the Shore Health System's hospitals and other health care facilities on the Eastern Shore," said Aetna's Bill Stout, head of network operations for Maryland. "Our goal is to offer members a wide range of choices in hospitals and physicians, and we're pleased to announce this new addition."

Under the new contract, Aetna members will be able to access Shore Health System facilities and doctors for covered in-patient and out-patient services, at in-network rates. The facilities covered under this agreement are:

--Memorial Hospital at Easton

--Dorchester General Hospital

--Shore Skilled Nursing Facility 

--Shore Radiology (three locations: Easton, Centreville, Denton)

--Shore Laboratory

--Shore Clinical Foundation (family practice physicians and pediatricians)

--Shore Rehabilitation Center (three locations: Easton, Centreville, Denton)

Aetna provides health benefits to approximately 600,000 members in Maryland. The company's Maryland members have access to a contracted network of 202 hospitals, 2,659 primary care physicians and 7,685 specialists.

"We are very happy to have a relationship with Aetna," said Deidra Bell, senior vice president and chief financial officer for Shore Health System. "We have been committed to providing access to care for our communities, and the agreement with Aetna expands our ability to do that."

The Memorial Hospital at Easton and Dorchester General Hospital in Cambridge are private, not-for-profit hospitals with a combined 236 licensed beds offering a complete range of inpatient and outpatient services to over 100,000 people throughout the Mid-Shore of Maryland. Situated on Maryland's Eastern Shore, these two hospitals affiliated in 1996 to form Shore Health System, offering a broad scope of physician specialties and additional off-site facilities.

As one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its approximately 13.7 million medical members, 11.9 million dental members, 8.4 million pharmacy members and 13.5 million group insurance members to help them make better informed decisions about their health care and protect their finances against health-related risks. Aetna provides easy access to cost-effective health care through a nationwide network of more than 655,000 health care professionals, including over 390,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 3,937 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of December 31, 2004)