Essay On Aetna Insurance

Submitted By yhernandez2691
Words: 1881
Pages: 8

Aetna insurance company was founded in 1850 when its first annuity fund to sell life insurance was organized. The company’s first president was Eliphalet A. Bulkeley. The name Aetna was inspired by an 11000ft volcano on Sicily’s eastern shores, which was the most active volcano in Europe. In 1854 Aetna hired its first full time employee Thomas O. Enders and by 1857 they had two offices in Hartford Connecticut. It wasn’t until 1899 that Aetna entered into the field of health insurance; in fact they were one of the first stock insurance companies to enter the health insurance business. Mark T. Bertolini who serves as Aetna’s president was named president of the company in 2007 is very active with the entire organization. Aetna is known as one of the largest health care companies in the United States with over 38,600 employees and an average amount of 22 million members. They offer many traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, which include medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life, disability plans, and Medicaid and Medicare plans to groups and individuals as well. They thrive on enabling people to achieve the financial and health security they deserve. The company’s networks include over 362,000 primary care and specialty physicians, 3,626 hospitals, over 62,000 dental practices, and over 62,000 participating pharmacies. Out of the members in Aetna’s health plans, 36% are enrolled in HMOs (Health Maintenance Organization), 34% in PPOs (Preferred Provider Organization), 17% in POSs (Point -of-Service), and 11% in their traditional indemnity plans. According to Aetna, “Aetna is dedicated to helping people achieve health and financial security by providing easy access to safe, cost-effective, high-quality health care and protecting their finances against health-related risks. Building on our 158-year heritage, Aetna will be a leader cooperating with doctors and hospitals, employers, patients, public officials and others to build a stronger, more effective health care system.” The overall core values of Aetna known as “The Aetna Way” are Integrity, Quality Service and Value, Excellence and Accountability, Caring and Inspiration. All of the company’s decisions and actions come from these set of core values. The company works hard to try to make sure they can offer affordable and good quality health care for everyone, which is why they have been in operation for 160 years and has made the forerunner in the health care industry. Aetna, the nation’s fourth largest publicly traded health insurer by revenue has had its share of problems in the past. In 2012, Aetna was ordered to pay more than 1.5 million in penalties for violating Missouri health insurance laws, including provisions restricting coverage for elective abortions and requiring insurers to notify customers of their right to refuse contraception coverage on religious grounds. In a settlement with the Missouri department of insurance Hartford Connecticut based Aetna said, they had sold standard group health care policies to employers in Missouri that included coverage for elective abortions. A 1986 state law requires insurers to sell such coverage separately at the expense of the individual who wants to purchase it. During the settlement, Aetna also admitted that it had failed to inform its insured employers and their workers of their rights under a 2001 state law to exclude contraception prescriptions as a benefit due to ethical, moral, or religious disputes that may come from using them. An Aetna spokesperson said in an email, “our intent is always to comply with the insurance and related legislation laws and mandates that vary throughout the 50 states as well as with federal law.”(www.Businessinsurance.com) Aetna was also accused of excluding coverage for autism spectrum disorder, which is a violation of a law that was mandated in 2010 to insure that group healthcare policies cover