Aetna Recognizes National Volunteer Week with Ongoing Commitment to Community Service.

Aetna employees volunteered more than 295,000 hours in 2007

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) and the Aetna Foundation join in a nationwide recognition of National Volunteer Week, a special week that celebrates the spirit and service of volunteers throughout the country. Last year, Aetna's employees volunteered more than 295,000 hours to support the communities where they live and work, and organized approximately 500 volunteer opportunities. Since 2003, more than 1.3 million employee volunteer hours have been logged in support of these community service efforts.

As one of the country's largest health insurers with 34,000 employees nationwide, Aetna encourages its employees to support their communities through an award-winning volunteer support program and network of highly engaged volunteer councils.

Employees from more than 40 councils take part in fundraisers, team projects, disaster relief and a range of other activities. For example:

* In Cranbury, N.J., Marie Alfano founded Joining Hands, which provides disabled and terminally ill children with special wishes;

* In Dallas, Tom Metcalf raises money for the Lone Star Ride Fighting AIDS; and

* In Thousand Oaks, Calif., Attila Kolek devotes his time to providing food and housing to impoverished people in Mexico.

The company's multifaceted volunteer program, Aetna Employees Reaching Out, combines online tools with management support to encourage and facilitate employee participation.

This spring, the company is also kicking off its second annual "Get Active for a Cause" initiative, which incorporates Aetna's employee wellness program with exercise-related events - such as walks, runs, bike rides and relays - for nonprofit causes. If up to 750 employees participate, the Aetna Foundation will award a grant up to $30,000 to a national nonprofit organization that will be selected by the employees. Last year, Aetna employees met the challenge, and the Foundation donated $30,000 to the National Sports Center for the Disabled.

"The work of employee volunteers is vital and needed more than ever. I encourage employees to share the rewards of giving with their colleagues and the community," said Marilda Gandara, president of the Aetna Foundation, which with Aetna contributed more than $24 million in grants and sponsorships in 2007. "In the spirit of National Volunteer Week, we applaud the efforts of our employees for their dedication to helping others, and celebrate the compassion and commitment they demonstrate as they work to build healthy communities."

The Aetna Foundation is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. Founded in 1972, the Foundation helps build healthy communities by promoting volunteerism, forming partnerships and funding initiatives that improve the quality of life where our employees and customers live and work. Since 1980, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed over $334 million in grants, sponsorships and social investments. Visit www.aetna.com/foundation for more information.

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.3 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. www.aetna.com