Aetna Introduces New HSA-Compatible Plans for Pennsylvania Small Employers.

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. -- Aetna announced today that it has launched a new portfolio of consumer-directed, preferred-provider organization (PPO) health plans for small employers in Pennsylvania, including plans designed to be compatible with health savings accounts (HSAs). The new plans are available for Oct. 1 effective dates.

Pennsylvania businesses with two to 50 employees can save 15 percent to 40 percent compared to Aetna's standard HMO plans. Firms and their workers benefit further from tax benefits that are part of HSA legislation recently enacted by Congress.

"Aetna recognizes the challenges small employers face as they attempt to offer their employees quality health care benefits at an affordable price," says Ralph Borzillo, vice president of Small Group sales for Aetna's Mid-Atlantic Region. "Our new consumer-driven PPO plans give them a unique array of options, at much lower price points, from which to choose."

"At the same time, we're putting our members at the center of health-care decision making, enabling them to take greater control over how their health insurance dollars are being spent," Borzillo says.

The new portfolio of plans includes:

--Three PPO plans that are HSA-compatible. These are qualified, high-deductible plans that enable employers and members to pay significantly reduced premiums while taking advantage of the tax benefits of HSAs;

--A "first-dollar," high-deductible PPO plan that covers the first $500 of covered medical expenses for an individual, the first $1,000 for a family;

--A basic hospital plan that provides catastrophic hospital coverage, and offers employers the highest premium savings.

"These new Aetna plans are great news for small employers," says Ron Flaherty, president of Liberty Benefits Inc., a Conshohocken, Pa. employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm. "Our clients are looking for creative strategies to help contain health insurance premiums, while offering their workers high-value benefits packages."

To help consumers make informed decisions, Aetna offers on-line tools such as: Aetna Navigator, a member self-service website that provides a record of personal health information; DocFind, a directory members can use to search for health-care providers by type, specialty, name, gender, language, hospital affiliation and other criteria. Members also have access to Aetna InteliHealth(R), an acclaimed on-line consumer health information site.

Aetna is one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, serving approximately 13.0 million medical members, 11.0 million dental members, 7.4 million pharmacy members and 12.1 million group insurance customers, as of September 30, 2003. The company has expansive nationwide networks of more than 590,000 health care services providers, including over 355,000 primary care and specialist physicians and 3,577 hospitals. For more information about Aetna, please visit the company's web site at www.aetna.com.