Diversity Is Everyone's Business.

The Aetna Foundation's commitment to African-Americans and Hispanics has earned us the Thurgood Marshall Award and the Diversity 2000 Award. And ours was one of only seven U.S. foundations to receive a "Double-A" rating from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy based on our total giving to racial and ethnic communities.

But we are not resting on our laurels. We are recruiting even more minorities to join our 28,000 caring professionals. Here are just a few of Aetna U.S. Healthcare's medical directors who help guard the good health of our members.

Wayne S. Rawlins, M.D. Northeast Region

"I joined Aetna U.S. Healthcare because I can potentially improve the health of over two million members!"

Dr. Rawlins' many efforts to improve his state and community include volunteer work with the ABC (A Better Chance) residential program for inner-city high school boys who are high academic achievers, the Shelter for Women and the University of Connecticut Health Systems Advisory Board. He has also mounted a large exhibition in Hartford, CT, with funding from the Aetna Foundation and uses the proceeds from this exhibit to finance a visiting artists program for Connecticut schoolchildren.

Terry R. Gordon, M.D. Midwest Region

"In Aetna U.S. Healthcare, I sought a partner who would give me the authority, power and tools to raise the standards and expectations about the care patients receive in this state."

If you want something done, they say, ask a busy person. Internal medicine specialist Dr. Gordon provides medical care at crossRoads, a shelter sponsored by the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, MN. He finds time to volunteer in Big Brothers/Big Sisters, 100 Black Men, the NAACP and Habitat for Humanity. And for five years, Dr. Gordon has traveled to historically black colleges to mentor students as part of the Urban League's Black Executive Exchange Program.

Climentene Jones, M.D. Midwest Region

"As the Midwest Region quality medical director, the oversight of the quality of care that our members receive is my primary function. The ultimate goal is the realization of Aetna U.S. Healthcare's vision -- creating the opportunity for all Americans to live full and healthy lives."

Dr. Jones, a Chicago pediatrician, has been with Aetna U.S. Healthcare for six years, during which time she has focused on the "big picture" -- "What can we at Aetna U.S. Healthcare do to assist in improving prevention and treatment rates?" Dr. Jones pursues improvement strategies both inside and outside the company. She often works with the Aetna Foundation to provide grants to the Illinois African-American community for immunization projects within churches.

Michael k. Howell, M.D. Southeast Region

"Not infrequently, the health care provider gets lost in the world of modern health care administration, and it takes doctors who are sensitive to what their patients are experiencing to ensure that patient minority concerns are addressed."

Since his birth in Neubrucke, Germany, Dr. Howell has covered a lot of ground -- geographically, in patient care and in caring for his various adopted communities. He has spent most of his life traveling throughout the southeastern United States, where he spent seven years caring for the medically indigent. He still participates in a Public Health Service community health center and was president of his National Medical Association (NMA) affiliate.

Linda O'Bannon, M.D. Midwest Region

"Although I am no longer in the exam room with patients, as a medical director at Aetna U.S. Healthcare, I still have a unique opportunity to be a patient advocate and to promote quality health care on a larger scale."

Dr. O'Bannon is an internist with a longstanding special interest in African-American health issues. She trained at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, treating poor African-American patients with disproportionate rates of diabetes, cancer and asthma. "Later as I practiced among more affluent, educated blacks, I realized that they suffered the same poor health as those that I treated at Cook County Hospital," said Dr. O'Bannon. She points out that much of the poor health status of African-Americans is preventable because it is related to lifestyle, behavior and access to culturally competent care.

Winston Price, M.D. Northeast Region

"As one of the premier health plans in America, Aetna U.S. Healthcare is in the best position to bring about a positive change in the quality of life of a diverse population."

Dr. Price is a Brooklyn pediatrician who is often relied upon for administrative guidance by his medical peers. He is a trustee of the NMA and is a member of many professional associations including the Board of Professional Medical Conduct, the Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Center for Chile Abuse and Neglect. Dr. Price is a tireless worker with such groups as the Parenting Education Program of Brooklyn, New York.

Donovan Christie, M.D. Southeast Region

"I believe that in the future patients will have increasing responsibility for their health care. Aetna U.S. Healthcare adds value by continuing to educate its members through a variety of media, including the Internet, brochures and newsletters."

Dr. Christie has spent his entire medical career as an executive at community health centers and in the managed care sector. He specializes in helping health care providers maximize their treatments. He says he chose Aetna U.S. Healthcare because "I love the opportunity that Aetna U.S. Healthcare offers in educating health care providers on evidence-based medicine and members on preventive medicine" Dr. Christie also makes time for community activities such as teaching Advanced CardioPulmonary Life Support at Atlanta Technical Institute.

Valerie Beckles, M.D. Southeast Region

"I was impressed, and remain impressed, by the ability of Aetna U.S. Healthcare to gather, analyze and share information with physicians and members. Such tools empower us all to make culturally sensitive and more appropriate health care decisions for our patients, our families and ourselves."

Dr. Beckles is a pediatrician who was raised in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. Her professional career over the past 20 years has involved private practice in Texas, faculty positions in Texas, and during the last eight years, managed care for Aetna U.S. Healthcare in Florida. Dr. Beckles participates in numerous community activities supported by Aetna U.S. Healthcare and by her church. Chief among Dr. Beckles' community activities is the medical mission team she formed and led to deliver free clinical services to Haiti in 1999. She is currently arranging another such mercy mission for October 2000.

Aetna U.S. Healthcare Speaks Your Language

We provide publications in Spanish, but we don't stop there! Our Spanish-speaking medical professionals are eager to help you. Through our 24-hour Informed Health[R] Line, Spanish-speaking registered nurses provide members with information on a variety of health topics.

Early Warnings Save Lives

Our grandparents knew it: "Forewarned is forearmed."

This is especially true with your health. The life expectancy of minorities is almost six years shorter than that of whites. During their lifetimes, African-Americans and Hispanics suffer from more illnesses than whites. People tend to think of the serious diseases that strike African-Americans and Hispanics as sudden crises, but these major killers are typically the long-term result of unrecognized signs, symptoms and unhealthy behaviors. Years of skipping hypertension medication can lead to a stroke. Out-of-control blood sugar levels and a couch-potato lifestyle can lead to an amputated leg or blindness -- the cost of uncontrolled diabetes. Obesity and a fatty diet can lead to a heart attack. Skipped mammograms can culminate in advanced, hard-to-treat breast cancer. Years of smoking can lead to death from lung cancer.

These only look like sudden events. Each could have been prevented by lifestyle changes coupled with close medical attention. And that's the often-ignored flip side of minority health risks: most can be prevented, or at least caught early, while they are still treatable or even curable.

The Aetna U.S. Healthcare's Healthy Outlook Program[R] stresses disease prevention and monitoring that save lives and help to eliminate the racial disparities in health care.

Early Warning for Heart Disease

Heart disease is the biggest killer of African-Americans and Hispanics. Most types of heart disease cause fatty plaque to narrow and choke the coronary blood vessels of the heart, robbing the heart of needed blood. Other forms involve uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension), which causes the blood vessel walls to weaken or burst. Obesity, fatty diets, smoking and uncontrolled stress feed heart disease risks. African-Americans die from heart disease at a rate that is about 60 percent higher than that of whites and twice that of Hispanics. Women are especially vulnerable after menopause: African-American women are 40 percent more likely than are white women to die of heart disease. Hispanics' heart disease death rates are among the lowest in the nation, but because heart disease is largely preventable, everyone, including Hispanics, should work to lower heart disease rates.

The good news is that with attentive, aggressive medical care and a commitment to positive lifestyle changes, you can lower these risks. These lifestyle changes include a low-fat diet, exercise, avoiding tobacco smoke, and learning to manage the stress in your life. Hypertension is a risk factor, as well, so your doctor may prescribe medications. But whether he/she prescribes medications or not, you must enter into partnership with your doctor to cut all these heart disease risks. And Aetna U.S. Healthcare facilitates this process.

When a member is put on heart medication, the Healthy Outlook Program steps in to help. A nurse case manager contacts the member to determine whether he/she might benefit from the heart failure disease management program. Several disturbing studies suggest that African-Americans with heart disease do not receive the same rigorous medical attention as whites. But for our Aetna U.S. Healthcare members, the heart failure program creates and maintains the level of care that can lower heart disease rates.

Heart disease risk factors make you vulnerable to stroke, too. In 1995, 71 percent more African-American women died of stroke than white women. By cutting your heart disease risk factors, you are also freeing yourself from a high stroke risk.

The early warning programs supply members with a series of publications that help them take an active role in their care. These publications help them understand their disease and learn how to treat it, and what additional resources are available to them.

Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by high levels of blood glucose. Unless the disease is constantly controlled, blindness, loss of limb, stroke and heart disease may result. African-Americans and Hispanics are far too familiar with this disease, because diabetes is almost twice as prevalent among African-Americans and Hispanics as it is among whites. Even worse, complications such as blindness and loss of limb are much more frequent among minority group members. Still, half of all diabetics don't even know they have the disease. An early diagnosis, diet, exercise and medication are key to managing the type of diabetes that strikes African-Americans and Hispanics. Keeping blood sugar within normal levels can prevent the terrible complications that so many minorities accept as inevitable. Aetna U.S. Healthcare's diabetes management program offers informational pamphlets in English and Spanish, as well as workbooks, checkup reminders, a free blood pressure monitor and the services of a nurse case manager to manage your disease.

Cancer

Minority group members are at higher risk of dying from most cancers. African-American men have the nation's highest rate of prostate cancer -- it strikes one in every eight men. African-American women have a 20 percent higher death rate from breast cancer than white women, and share 150 percent higher-than-average cervical cancer rate with Latinas. Latino men have a 40 percent lifetime risk of developing cancer. Despite such troubling numbers, hope abounds for lowering minority cancer rates -- in early detection and treatment and lifestyle changes.

LUNG CANCER: Twenty-five percent of African-Americans smoke, and tobacco smoke accounts for more than 90 percent of all lung cancers. Our smoking-cessation program can help.

PROSTATE CANCER: Because of the high incidence of this type of cancer, an annual prostate examination is imperative for African-American men. The Aetna Foundation is heavily funding research on better prevention, diagnosis and treatment, tailored specifically for African-American men.

BREAST and REPRODUCTIVE CANCERS: Women can protect their health with a monthly breast self-exam, low-fat diet, regular exercise, an annual mammogram and a Pap smear as recommended by their doctor. To make sure members don't forget these important health rituals, Aetna U.S. Healthcare's cancer screening program sends breast self-exam instruction cards and annual checkup reminders that are invaluable to African-American women who have higher rates of endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancers.

COLON CANCER: Fifty-six thousand Americans died of colorectal cancer last year, and African-Americans face an even higher colorectal cancer risk than the general public's. This cancer is 90 percent preventable, so everyone age 50 and older should have an annual fecal occult blood test and a flexible sigmoidoscopy to look for early, curable colorectal cancer. Aetna U.S. Healthcare sends a free colorectal screening kit every year to all of its members age 50 and older. In March, Aetna U.S. Healthcare and the Aetna Foundation joined the Today show's Katie Couric to launch the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA). Our $5 million grant to support NCCRKs clinical research and educational outreach is part of a national campaign to prevent, detect and cure this killer.

Aetna U.S. Healthcare Values Women's Health The Women's Health for Life Program provides information a woman needs to stay healthy through each stage of life. Many African-American and Hispanic women, beleaguered by busy lifestyles and family responsibilities, fail to follow through on self-care. But Aetna U.S. Healthcare makes self-care easy. A female member does not need a referral for Gyn care such as routine exams and Pap smears. Aetna U.S. Healthcare's reproductive health care coverage includes not only contraceptive counseling and medication, but also infertility case management.

MENOPAUSE MANAGEMENT: Aetna U.S. Healthcare's Caring for Women's Health and Caring for Women's Diseases publications explain menopause, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), osteoporosis and other related health issues.

A Commitment to Excellence

Aetna U.S. Healthcare's National Medical Excellence Program[R] helps manage sickle-cell anemia and other diseases that affect African-Americans and Hispanics almost exclusively. Our network of providers and hospitals consists of experts who are nationally recognized for successful clinical outcomes.

5 BIGGEST KILLERS

OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS:

Heart disease
Cancer
Lung disease
Liver disease
Diabetes

OF HISPANICS:

Heart diseases
Cancer
Stroke
HIV infection
Diabetes

The Aetna Foundation/Aetna U.S. Healthcare Quality Care Research Fund

There is a research vacuum in African-American health, but we are helping to close this gap. Aetna U.S. Healthcare has given $3.2 million in research over the past few years, specifically to benefit the health of African-Americans. Under the aegis of the Quality Care Research Fund, we have funded research at traditionally black medical colleges such as Howard and Morehouse to study such issues as sickle-cell disease, asthma, infant health, heart failure and prostate cancer.

Healing Women's Hearts

Aetna has made a $7 million commitment to healing women's hearts. The Aetna Foundation funds the American Heart Association's National Women's Heart Disease and Stroke campaign to educate women about their serious cardiovascular health risks. We also sponsor many programs such as Take Wellness to Heart, a multifaceted program that addresses every aspect of women's heart health, from media coverage to physician education. Our 1-888-MY-HEART toll-free line and the Take Wellness to Heart website (www.women.americanheart.org) provide free information to all women about heart disease and how to avoid it. Walking for Wellness specifically addresses African-American women's heart health, and the Aetna Grassroots Grants support programs such as Latina Women: Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention in San Diego.

A Taste of the Good Life

Aetna U.S. Healthcare Promotes Its Healthy Eating Program for People of Color

Almost half of African-American women are overweight, that is, they weigh more than 10 percent over government recommendations. African-Americans and Hispanics, especially women, are more likely than other Americans to be not only overweight but obese, which is defined as at least 20 percent over the ideal weight established by the Food and Drug Administration.

Aetna U.S. Healthcare's Healthy Eating Program addresses the problem of being overweight and ways to control it. This program is important to the well-being of African-Americans and Hispanics. Being overweight is a common denominator of many serious ailments that threaten the lives and health of minority Americans. But too many of us are in denial about what fat can do. Here are some of the ways in which fat kills:

* Diabetes A 1999 study in the American Journal of Medical Science suggests that obese black teenagers have a greater risk of developing diabetes as adults than do obese whites.

* Stroke Fatty diets encourage blood-vessel damage in the brain.

* Heart disease High-fat, high-salt diets set the stage for coronary-artery damage.

* Cancer The American Cancer Society estimates that one-third of cancer deaths are due to poor diets. Excess fat contributes to other minority health problems by encouraging hormonal disturbances, infertility and depression.

Healthy Eating Program

Achieving or maintaining a healthy weight is not enough; you must also practice good nutrition. National Cancer Institute and Food and Drug Administration research has found that low-fat, high-fiber diets heavy in grains, fruits and properly prepared vegetables are just what the doctor ordered to avoid disease.

Unfortunately, Hispanics and African-Americans tend to consume traditional foods that feature fats, sugars, processed foods, and too little fresh fruits, vegetables and grains. But nutrition education and a partnership with your health care provider can help to change your tastes.

Our Healthy Eating program provides the information -- and the inspiration -- members need to develop a long-term healthy eating plan.

Aetna U.S. Healthcare's Fitness Programs

According to a study of 300 educators published in Human Biology, African-Americans are more sedentary than whites. If dashing for the train is the extent of your exercise regimen, take heart. The fitness program will help you get off the couch by providing special membership rates at health clubs and discounts on home exercise equipment. So will Aetna U.S. Healthcare's Choose to Move, a 12-week physical activity and behavior modification plan. The Aetna Foundation has also fostered African-American women's nutrition and fitness awareness with a high-profile celebrity campaign featuring numerous celebrities, including Maya Angelou.

It's time to get moving

Our commitment to minority fitness extends far outside our company walls. We sponsor many fitness programs for African-Americans and Hispanics. The Aetna Foundation sponsors the American Heart Association Walking for Wellness festivals, which encourage African-Americans to stay active and participate in one- to three-mile walks and health screenings, as well as enjoy entertainment and heart-healthy food samplings.

Latina Women: Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention provides interactive courses to the Hispanic community that stress physical activity, nutrition and healthy food preparation. After participating in these and other classes on lowering disease risks, participants can become lay health educators who get the word out to the larger Latino community.

Aetna U.S. Healthcare Kids

Healthy Outlook Program Looks Out for Kids

From the time they are born, African-American and Hispanic children face special health perils, including high asthma rates. Aetna U.S. Healthcare's Healthy Outlook Program makes it easier for you to protect your child's health.

ASTHMA is a chronic lung disease. The 17 million Americans with asthma suffer repeated attacks of breathlessness that sometimes require emergency room visits. Asthma rates are 22 percent higher among African-Americans than in whites, and African-American asthmatics are three times more likely to die. Hispanics are 50 percent more likely to die of asthma than are white Americans.

Prevention is the key to asthma treatment, but many families find it difficult to obtain and regularly use the asthma medications that discourage future attacks. This is where the Healthy Outlook Program comes in. This umbrella program offers several strategies to control asthma. Educational materials arm you with knowledge of the disease, including information about the different medications and therapies. The disease management program for asthma provides a nurse case manager who coordinates the medical visits, shows you how to take the medication or administer it to your child, and even arranges a home environmental assessment.

To control asthma and reduce emergency hospitalizations, Aetna U.S. Healthcare's asthma management program enlists pharmacists who use computers to track the type of medications asthmatics receive and how often they get it. This way, the pharmacist can see whether the person's asthma is getting worse and can notify his/her doctor.

Clinical Performance Reports indicate that Healthy Outlook is working for Aetna U.S. Healthcare members with asthma. Between 1997 and 1998, members' use of effective medications rose significantly, emergency room visits fell by 20 percent, and asthmatics spent 36 percent fewer days in the hospital.

Give Your Baby a Healthy Start With Aetna U.S. Healthcare

To better the odds for our children, our unique L'il Appleseed[R] Maternity Management Program (El Chiquitin) makes sure that minority infants, who are at high risk for low birth-weight and premature birth, get the early attention they need and deserve. The program was designed by a team of medical experts who know that prenatal care is important for minority mothers, too: African-American women are almost four times as likely as whites to die during pregnancy or shortly thereafter. The program provides a nurse case manager who makes sure that at-risk pregnancies receive special attention. He/she closely monitors the mother and helps coordinate appropriate care from a high-risk pregnancy specialist.

We haven't forgotten fathers. The L'il Appleseed expectant father program helps dad prepare for the exciting changes ahead with educational materials and an allowance for couple-oriented pregnancy classes.

Last but not least, the Smoke-free Moms-to-be[TM] smoking-cessation program is important because minority infants are more likely than others to suffer the terrible consequences of tobacco exposure.

Immunization Reminders -- a Shot in the Arm

Vaccines can protect your child only if he/she gets all the doses he/she needs -- on time. To make sure your child is covered, the Aetna U.S. Healthcare Check[TM] Program sends immunization reminders to parents. We even remind older and immune-compromised adults to get their flu and pneumonia vaccines. The result? Sixty percent of adult Aetna U.S. Healthcare members at risk get their flu and pneumonia vaccines -- that's twice the national average!

United States Tennis Association Arthur Ashe Kids' Day -- August 26, 2000

The Aetna Foundation is proud to be a sponsor of this annual United States Tennis Association event, named for the tennis legend who was one of the great humanitarians of our time. The daylong event will offer activities and games for children at the USTA National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadow, Queens. A star-packed stadium show will feature the hottest names in entertainment and in tennis -- including Venus and Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Martina Hingis, the Backstreet Boys and many others. Arthur Ashe Kids' Day raises awareness and funds for AIDS research and is free to kids 12 and under when accompanied by an adult. For tickets, call 1-888-OPEN-TIX.

Health at Your Fingertips

Want to look up a medication you've seen advertised on television? Want to learn more about a condition your doctor thinks you may have? InteliHealth[R] (www.intelihealth.com) works with more than 150 top health organizations to offer you two million pages of information on healthier living. Newsweek dubbed it "altogether the best health site on the Web" and Forbes commended it as "one of the best medical portals in cyberspace." Not surprisingly, in 1999 and again in May 2000, InteliHealth won a coveted Webby award.

InteliHealth is conveniently linked from the Aetna U.S. Healthcare site at www.aetnaushc.com. Here are some of our site's features which our members use on a daily basis:

* EZenroll[R] allows users to enroll in Aetna U.S. Healthcare's health benefits.

* In Your State provides downloadable publications such as plan brochures and a list of products that are available in your state.

* DocFind[R] lets members easily find a participating doctor or dentist and explore dental plans from Basic Dental to Advantage Plus Dental.

* The Vision One[R](*) discount program offers valuable discounts on eyewear -- an important advantage for African-American and Hispanic members who have higher rates of glaucoma and diabetic eye diseases.

* Women's Health for Life Programs focus on the unique health care needs of women.

You can even access information concerning student health insurance, life insurance and long-term care plans.

The result? Better care for you and your loved ones.

(*) Vision One is a registered trademark of Cole Vision.

Black Leaders of the Century

Since 1982, Aetna has recognized the outstanding contributions of African-Americans through its annual African-American History Calendar. The calendar, which features both monthly profiles and significant daily events, has become an invaluable reference and education tool in schools, libraries and homes across the country. To date, the calendar has profiled more than 200 individuals, from Pulitzer prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks and Olympic gold medal winner Florence Griffith Joyner, to heart surgeon Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, and CEO and philanthropist Comer J. Cottrell, Jr.

Calendars are available free of charge.

To order, please write:
Aetna Calendar
Corporate Communications
151 Farmington Avenue,
RC2D
Hartford, CT 06156

No computer? No problem!

That's because there are more on-ramps to the information superhighway than ever before. Here are some:

* Public Libraries -- Most libraries now offer free Internet access to the general public, although you often have to sign up to use a computer and there may be a time limit.

* Schools -- Many colleges offer computer access to students and alumni; some offer Internet access to the general public.

* Workplace -- We're not suggesting you surf the Internet on the clock, but an employer may let you arrive early or stay late to access health information.

* Internet Cafes -- Even if you're not a young blood or a New Ager, there's no law against you sliding into an overstuffed seat to enjoy a hot cup of java, cool jazz and a computer at your fingertips.

Aetna U.S. Healthcare Donates Computers to Historically Black Colleges and Universities

In May, Aetna U.S. Healthcare reinforced its long-standing commitment to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) by donating computers to seven historically black colleges and universities: Claflin College (Orangeburg, SC); Fisk University (Nashville, TN); Jarvis Christian College (Hawkins, TX); Philander Smith (Little Rock, AR); Rust College (Holly Springs, MS); Spelman College (Atlanta, GA); and Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL).

"We are extremely grateful for the support we are receiving from Aetna U.S. Healthcare, which recognizes the importance of investing in our colleges and universities," said UNCF President and CEO William H. Gray, III.

If you'd like to work for Aetna U.S. Healthcare, or if you'd like to do business with us, click on our website at www.aetnaushc.com.