Aetna Signs Contract with Central Florida Health Alliance.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that it has reached agreement with the Central Florida Health Alliance on a three-year contract that adds Leesburg Regional Medical Center and The Villages Regional Hospital to Aetna's provider network in the Central Florida area. The agreement takes effect Sept. 15.

"Aetna is delighted to announce the addition of these two hospitals to our Central Florida network," said Jim McCunney, Aetna's vice president of network development for Central Florida. "We continue to provide our members with broader access to physicians and facilities in the area. We're hopeful it will help us grow new business and retain existing customers in the area."

Under the agreement, members of Aetna network-based plans will be able to receive covered in-patient and out-patient services, at in-network rates, from Leesburg Regional Medical Center and The Villages Regional Hospital.

"We are pleased to now include Aetna in our family of health plans which will allow greater access to many members of our community," said Dale Hocking, senior vice president and chief financial officer for Central Florida Health Alliance. "This relationship will help reduce co-pays for existing Aetna members and encourage the use of our facilities to those who previously would have incurred out-of-network costs as a result of their preference for our Alliance hospitals."

Aetna provides and administers health benefits to more than 225,000 members in Central Florida. Those members have access to a contracted network of 35 hospitals, 1,626 primary care physicians and 4,434 specialists.

The Villages Regional Hospital, part of Central Florida Health Alliance, is a 198-bed acute care hospital located in the heart of The Villages, a nationally-known adult community. Specially designed to bring hospitality to health care, the facility serves the tri county area - Lake, Sumter and south Marion counties.

Leesburg Regional Medical Center, part of Central Florida Health Alliance, is a 309-bed acute hospital with specialty services including comprehensive cardiovascular, neurosurgery, and the only designated stroke center with the Joint Commission Seal of Approval in Lake and Sumter counties.

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.2 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