Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan Expansion, New Products Approved in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland; Company to expand service areas and product offerings in 2005.

LINTHICUM, Md. -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that it has received approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to offer Individual Medicare Advantage plan options in four new counties and make a greater choice of plans available in five current counties. The approval broadens Aetna's portfolio of Medicare Advantage plans and increases the number of choices available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2005.

"We are pleased with the approval from CMS to bring our Medicare Advantage plans into new counties of New Jersey and Maryland, broadening access to quality health care for Medicare beneficiaries in these areas," said Frank G. McCauley, head of Aetna's Medicare business segment. "In addition to the service area expansion, we also are strengthening the range of options we are offering by providing more choices of plans and premium options."

Aetna's expansion into four new counties will include introducing both the Aetna Golden Medicare Plan(R) (HMO) and the Aetna Golden Choice(TM) Plan (point-of-service, or POS) into the following three New Jersey counties:

--Burlington County

--Gloucester County

--Morris County

Aetna also will offer the Aetna Golden Choice Plan (POS) as a new product alternative in the following counties:

--Howard County, Md.

--Camden County, N.J.

--Sussex County, N.J.

--Chester County, Penn.

--Delaware County, Penn.

The Aetna Golden Medicare Plan (HMO) will be added in:

--Mercer County, N.J.

"We believe that Aetna offers the solution for Medicare beneficiaries by allowing them to choose the plan that best fits their lifestyle. Additionally, because Aetna has been in business for more than 150 years, we feel that Medicare beneficiaries can view us as the source for providing products, service and information that helps meet their health needs," McCauley said.

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 13.6 million medical members, 11.6 million dental members, 8.3 million pharmacy members and 13.3 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 646,000 health care professionals, including over 385,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 3,908 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of September 30, 2004)