Aetna's Member Website Redesigned to Make It Easier for Members to Find the Information They Need; Consumer Tools Enhanced Based on Member Feedback; Hits Have Quadrupled Since Redesign.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Aetna has redesigned Aetna Navigator(TM), the company's secure, member website, to make it easier for members to find helpful information about health care choices and finances. Based on user feedback, the enhanced site features more intuitive, customized navigation, relevant information packaged together, and links with active, descriptive names such as Find Health Care or Benefits Used and Remaining.

The company continues to refine its decision-support tools as consumers' information needs evolve.

"We asked members and their employers how Aetna Navigator could better facilitate member access to health information," said Susan M. Peters, Aetna's head of National Customer Operations. "Based on their responses, we created a new look and feel for the site that delivers personal information and general health content, including valuable decision-making tools, in a new format that is easier on the eye. We think members will particularly like user-friendly navigation links on each page that anticipate what they might logically want to do next on the site."

Since the site was redesigned, monthly hits to the site have increased substantially. Visits to "Claim Details" rose from 163,000 in September to 587,133 in November and more than quadrupled to a record-breaking 734,606 in March 2005.

Aetna conducted a series of usability studies and focus groups, and examined member feedback from several years. Now, Aetna members arriving at their personalized, secure home page immediately see the information they request most often.

The site now has four key categories:

--Benefits provides summaries of benefits used and remaining, who is covered, and health programs for which the member is eligible.

--Claims & Balances lets members search for claim status, view claim details, review their claim explanation of benefits statements, and check account balances.

--Requests & Changes allows a wide range of tasks to be performed online, such as requesting ID cards, viewing temporary member identification information, changing primary care physician or dentist, and personal e-mail preferences. Members also can turn off mailed paper statements, ask to track them online, and receive e-mail notification when a new online statement is available.

--Take Action On Your Health helps members find participating health care professionals and facilities; estimates of the cost of services, procedures and medications; information on staying healthy, including fitness, nutrition, smoking cessation and weight management programs; and information on treating illness.

A new feature, En Espanol, summarizes links to all features and functions on the site available in Spanish such as the recently added Spanish-language version of Healthwise(R) Knowledgebase. Healthwise Knowledgebase is a health information source that supports members with decision points to help them choose health care treatment options.

Aetna continues to make investments in technology that are helping the company improve service to its constituents. Aetna reported in its 2004 fourth quarter earnings call that the positive impact of Aetna Navigator and Aetna Voice Advantage, the company's interactive voice response system, combined with improvements in its customer service organization have been validated by consistent improvements in member and provider satisfaction survey results for 2004.

Aetna Navigator's 24-hour access to information enables members, especially those in consumer-directed plans, to take more control of their health care and financial choices. According to a recent study of Aetna HealthFund members from three large employer groups, there has been a 38 percent increase in logons to Aetna Navigator since 2003.

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 14.4 million medical members, 12.8 million dental members, 9.0 million pharmacy members and 14.0 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 672,000 health care professionals, including approximately 400,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 4,084 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of March 31, 2005)