Aetna Wins National Quality Award for Immunization Program.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Annual HERA Award Recognizes Aetna's Adolescent Immunization Program for Advancing Quality in Children's Health and for Outreach to Diverse Populations

Aetna (NYSE:AET) announced today that the company's Adolescent Immunization Program has won a 2004 HERA Award, given annually by American's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. The award was presented in Chicago on June 17 at the AHIP's Institute in Chicago, Illinois.

Now in its ninth year, the annual award is given in the spirit of the goddess Hera, honoring up to six health plan and provider-based programs that advance quality in women's and children's health, especially targeting underserved populations. Nominations were evaluated based on the degree of improved clinical outcomes, the degree to which the programs reach diverse populations, and their impact on patient satisfaction. Additionally, AHIP/Wyeth HERA Awards seek to recognize those programs that accomplish the greatest outreach to diverse populations to advance equitable health care.

"The HERA Award continues to symbolize leadership and a commitment to quality healthcare," said Karen Ignagni, president and chief executive officer of AHIP. "The committee viewed Aetna's Adolescent Immunization Program as an excellent example of the type of community outreach that can have a profound effect on the health care our citizens receive."

Aetna's Adolescent Immunization Program focuses on timely vaccination of adolescents for measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), hepatitis B and varicella. Maintaining high vaccination levels limits the spread of infectious disease and prevents recurrence of vaccine-preventable diseases.

"The occurrence of vaccine-preventable disease has declined in the United States due, in large part, to vaccine programs for infants and children," said William C. Popik, Aetna's chief medical officer. "But data shows that during the adolescent years, when booster immunizations are required, vaccination rates slip. Given that vaccination rates increased where we implemented the program, we believe our approach to increasing both physician awareness and parent awareness has helped to ensure the on-going protection of the adolescent population against the health risks associated with these preventable diseases. As an added benefit, when adolescents visit the doctor for these immunizations, it creates an opportunity for their physicians to discuss other important health issues with them."

Over 100,000 adolescent (aged 10-12) members of Aetna were identified as targets for the member and physician outreach program conducted in seven states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and Oklahoma. Parents of the targeted adolescents received several mailings, each emphasizing the importance of vaccinations for their children.

Aetna gave physicians in these states the following materials: reports identifying susceptible patients; educational material explaining the risks associated with MMR, hepatitis B, and varicella for distribution to patients; patient record management aids, such as reminder postcards, chart stickers, and chart audit tools; and, in some cases, copies of Chickenpox News and Views and other varicella-related information.

Several high-volume practices were selected for office visits, during which the use of patient educational materials and patient record management tools were promoted.

The average vaccination rate for the seven target areas increased 3.16 percentage points for MMR, 8.36 percentage points for hepatitis B, and 22.72 percentage points for varicella. In South Carolina, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas, where physicians received varicella-specific materials, the average varicella rate increased 16.39 percentage points, compared to other Aetna markets in which the average varicella rate increased only 4.29 percentage points.

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 13.3 million medical members, 11.2 million dental members, 8.1 million pharmacy members and 12.4 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 618,000 health care professionals, including over 370,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 3,783 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of March 31, 2004)