Aetna Signs Agreement with VCU Health System.

RICHMOND, Va. -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that it has signed a five-year contract that extends the company's relationship with the hospitals, clinics and physicians of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System.

"Aetna greatly values its relationship with the VCU Health System," said Aetna's Bill Stout, head of network operations for Virginia. "The system's MCV hospitals and doctors are important components of our Richmond-area network, and we're very glad that our relationship will be continuing."

Under the contract, which takes effect May 1, Aetna members in the Richmond area may continue receiving covered in-patient and out-patient services, at in-network rates, from the MCV hospitals and outpatient clinics. The arrangement also extends Aetna's contract with the hospitals' affiliated physicians.

"We are very pleased to have a new agreement that extends our partnership and gives all Aetna customers continued access to our academic medical center," said Dr. Sheldon Retchin, chief executive officer of the VCU University Health System.

The VCU Health System includes the Richmond area's only academic medical center, recording more than 30,000 admissions and 500,000 outpatient visits a year at its MCV hospitals and clinics. Medical services are provided by MCV Physicians, a 600-physician and faculty group practice.

The VCU Health System offers state-of-the-art care in more than 200 specialty areas, many of national and international note, including organ transplantation, head and spinal cord trauma, cardiac care and cancer treatment.

Aetna provides health benefits to approximately 425,000 members in Virginia. The company's Richmond-area members have access to a contracted network of 17 hospitals, 882 primary care physicians and 2,054 specialists

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)