New Agreement for Hartford Healthcare and Aetna

Hartford Healthcare and Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced they have reached agreement on a new contract. The new agreement covers every element of the Hartford Healthcare organization – Hartford Hospital, MidState Medical Center, Windham Hospital, Hartford physicians and other outpatient and ancillary service facilities.

Hartford Healthcare and Aetna have been negotiating a new contract that covers the cost of providing care to Aetna members for several months. The details of the new two-year contract, effective January 1, 2010, were not released.

“Hartford Healthcare has served this community for more than 150 years. This new agreement ensures that our patients with Aetna insurance will continue to have uninterrupted access to the highest quality healthcare at Hartford Hospital, MidState Medical Center, and Windham Hospital,” said Jim Blazar, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer of Hartford Healthcare. “The negotiations with Aetna were very important because they directly affect our ability to provide the type of high quality care the community has come to depend on.”

“We are pleased to come to an agreement that will help us control the rising cost of health care services for Aetna members in the region and will also allow them to continue accessing some of the top medical facilities and health care providers in Connecticut,” said Mike Hudson, Aetna President, Northeast Region, Health Care Management. “We also feel strongly that this agreement will allow us to develop new programs that will give us the opportunity to drive meaningful improvements in patient safety and chronic care management for our members.”

The partnership program will serve as a best practice for future relationships between providers and payors that will improve the management and delivery of care.

“We are focused on further establishing a solid foundation at Hartford Healthcare – a foundation that ensures we have the resources we need to fulfill our mission,” said Blazar. “Our commitment is to consistently provide top quality care and needed charitable services to our community. This new contract ensures we can meet that commitment, and we’re pleased that we have four new long-term insurance contracts that meet our goals going into 2010.”

About Hartford Healthcare

Hartford Healthcare is one of Connecticut’s most comprehensive integrated healthcare delivery systems, comprising three acute-care hospitals (Hartford Hospital, Windham and MidState), a mental health and substance abuse network, clinical laboratories, rehabilitation facilities, home care services and primary care practices. Its tertiary care teaching facility, Hartford Hospital, is an 867-bed regional referral center that provides high-quality care in all clinical disciplines. Among its divisions is The Institute of Living, a 114-bed mental health facility with a national and international reputation of excellence. Jefferson House, a 104-bed long-term care facility, is also a special division of Hartford Hospital. The hospital’s major centers of clinical excellence include cardiology, oncology, emergency services and trauma, mental health, women’s health, orthopedics, bloodless surgery and advanced organ transplantation. Hartford Hospital owns and operates the state’s only air ambulance system, LIFE STAR.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.3 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. For more information, see www.aetna.com.