Aetna
| Aetna | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Hartford, Conn. |
| Top official: | David Joyner, Chairman and CEO |
| Year founded: | 1853 |
| Website: | Official website |
Aetna is a healthcare benefits company based in the United States. The organization offers a variety of insurance plans including health insurance, prescription drug coverage, dental plans, group life insurance, and disability coverage. Aetna also markets healthcare administration tools including workers' compensation management and health information technology services.[1] Aetna is owned by CVS Health.[2]
History
Aetna was originally established as a life insurance company in 1853. After several decades, the company began to offer accident insurance in 1891. Aetna's life and accident policyholders were able to purchase the company's first health insurance plans in 1899.[2]
Aetna introduced a variety of insurance products during the early 20th century, including automobile insurance, employer liability insurance, and group life insurance. In 1917, Aetna developed insurance policies for bond contractors on government construction projects. Aetna insured a number of government construction projects during the 20th century, including the Hoover Dam in 1931, the National Archives Building in 1932, seven Navy aircraft carriers in 1940, the Manhattan Project in 1944, the United Nations headquarters in 1949, and the restoration of the Statue of Liberty in 1986.[2]
| Aetna's insurance offerings 1853-1951[2] |
|---|
|
Aetna adapted to the post-World War II employment marketplace by introducing major medical coverage in 1951. At the time, the country was struggling with a labor shortage in combination with a wage freeze. Employers began offering employee benefits, including health insurance coverage, as a means of attracting and maintaining a stable workforce.[2]
| Aetna's mergers and acquisitions 1996-2013[2] |
|---|
|
From the 1960s through the 1980s, Aetna diversified its offerings in the health insurance marketplace. The organization paid the first Medicare claim in 1966, initiating a long history of Medicare coverage through Aetna. In 1973, Aetna created its first Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) subsidiary, a type of health insurance network aimed at delivering healthcare while controlling costs. Aetna formed Partners National Health Plans in 1985 through a collaboration with Voluntary Hospitals of America, the largest nonprofit hospital organization in the United States. The partnership expanded Aetna's health insurance market and allowed the company to increase offerings of HMO and Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans.[2][3]
The end of the 20th century and the early 21st century for were marked by mergers, acquisitions, and rebranding efforts by Aetna. The company acquired six health benefits companies between 1996 and 2013. During this period, Aetna organized health savings account (HSA) offerings and pioneered a transparency program that allowed consumers to preview the cost of health services before accessing treatment. The company rebranded its overall mission in 2012 to focus on providing health benefits, completing a roughly 150-year journey from being an insurance provider to being a health benefits organization.[2] In 2018, Aetna became a part of CVS Health.[2]
Leadership
As of August 2025, the following were listed as leadership at CVS, which owns Aetna:[4]
- David Joyner, President and Chief Executive Officer, CVS Health
- Heidi Capozzi, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, CVS Health
- Sree Chaguturu, MD, Executive Vice President and President of Health Care Delivery
- Amy Compton-Phillips, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health
- Ed DeVaney, Executive Vice President and President, Caremark
- Sam Khichi, Executive Vice President, Chief Policy Officer and General Counsel, CVS Health
- Tilak Mandadi, Executive Vice President, Ventures and Chief Experience and Technology Officer, CVS Health
- Larry McGrath, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Strategic Advisor to the CEO of CVS Health
- Steve Nelson, Executive Vice President and President, Aetna
- Brian Newman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, CVS Health
- Prem Shah, Executive Vice President and Group President, CVS Health
- Len Shankman, Executive Vice President and President, Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness, CVS Health
Work and activities
Health insurance
As of August 2025, Aetna's website says the following:[5]
| “ |
Helping people live healthier lives Over 36 million people rely on Aetna, a CVS Health® company, to help them make decisions about their health care and their health care spending. Every day, we work to make the system easier and more convenient for our customers. Our health insurance plans and services include: Medical, pharmacy and dental plans Medicare plans Medicaid services Behavioral health programs Medical management Our products and programs We offer: A range of insurance and employee benefits products Programs and services that help control rising costs while striving to improve the quality of health care Tools and information to help people make better-informed decisions about their health care and financial well-being[6] |
” |
Political contributions
Aetna had a Super PAC that was discontinued after 2020.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag[7]
Following implementation of the ACA, Aetna began offering health benefit plans for individuals and families through public exchanges in the health insurance marketplace. In February 2014, Bertolini expressed concerns regarding the pricing of health benefit plans under the ACA as well as the overall program administration. Bertolini stated that Aetna was working to coordinate with the federal government, but could potentially decide to increase premiums for consumers or opt out of uncompetitive markets.[8][9][10]
In February 2016, Bertolini told The Hill that Aetna remained concerned regarding the sustainability of the health insurance marketplace and the strength of the risk pool. However, Bertolini continued to express optimism about Aetna's participation in the ACA. "We believe it’s incredibly important in the business we’re in that we insure all Americans," Bertolini stated. "This is our first attempt to make this happen, and we believe we have an obligation to stick it out and work with it until we know that it won’t work, and I believe it is too early to give up on this process."[8][9][10]
As of March 2016, Aetna offered health benefit plans through the health insurance marketplace in 15 states.[8]
Decrease in 2017 ACA plan offerings
In August 2016, Aetna announced its intention to withdraw from ACA participation in 11 of 15 states during 2017. The company cited financial losses as its reason for withdrawing from the exchanges. "We will continue to evaluate our participation in individual public exchanges while gaining additional insight from the counties where we will maintain our presence, and may expand our footprint in the future should there be meaningful exchange-related policy improvements," stated Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini.[11]
Aetna’s announcement sparked reactions from the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump campaigns.
A spokesperson for the Clinton campaign, Jesse Ferguson, said in a statement, “The progress we’ve achieved since the Affordable Care Act became law is undeniable. … Donald Trump has no interest in building on what works.” According to The Wall Street Journal, Ferguson also cited “20 million newly insured Americans, expanded consumer protections and free preventive care” and noted Clinton’s “proposals meant to improve the system.”[12]
Donald Trump’s deputy national policy director, Dan Kowalski, said that “Aetna’s decision to leave the Affordable Care Act’s public marketplaces is the latest blow to this broken law that is slowly imploding under its regulatory red tape.” According to The Washington Times, Kowalski also said that “‘millions’ of Americans saw their bare-bones plans canceled under Obamacare, because of new coverage requirements, and pointed to insurance mandates on employers that have forced some to trim payroll or slash part-timers’ hours to avoid triggering costly fines.”[13]
Public service
Aetna has participated in philanthropic outreach since the early 20th century. The Aetna Foundation was established in 1972 to encourage wellness, improve access to healthcare, and support communities.[14][2][15][16]
Opposition
2016 presidential campaign
On October 21, 2015, Hillary Clinton said she had “serious concerns” about Aetna’s planned acquisition of Humana and other mergers between health insurers. "As we see more consolidation in health care, among both providers and insurers, I'm worried that the balance of power is moving too far away from consumers," Clinton said.[17]
Aetna and Humana, a U.S.-based health insurance company, announced their proposed $34 billion merger on July 3, 2015. As of March 2016, the merger was pending approval from federal antitrust regulators while investigators determine the scope of potential negative impacts on consumer pricing, access to care, and market competition.[18]
U.S. Department of Justice lawsuits
The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits on July 21, 2016, to halt the proposed mergers between Aetna and Humana as well as Cigna and Anthem. The lawsuits arose from concerns that the proposed mergers would limit competition in the health insurance market, raise health insurance premiums, and create challenges for the Affordable Care Act.[19]
“If allowed to proceed, these mergers would fundamentally reshape the health insurance industry,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. “They would leave much of the multi-trillion dollar health insurance industry in the hands of three mammoth insurance companies, drastically constricting competition in a number of key markets that tens of millions of Americans rely on to receive health care.”[19]
All four health insurers fought the lawsuits. According to Reuters, Aetna and Humana stated that they would "vigorously defend the companies’ pending merger."[20]
U.S. District Court Judge John Bates issued a ruling to block the merger between Aetna and Humana on January 23, 2017.[21]-->
Finances
As of August 2025, financial data for Aetna was not available. If you have information to share, click here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Aetna. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Aetna, "Aetna Facts & Subsidiaries," accessed March 9, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Aetna, "Aetna history," accessed March 9, 2016
- ↑ Rand, "The Rise of HMOs," accessed March 10, 2016
- ↑ CVS Health, "Meet our leadership team," accessed August 7, 2025
- ↑ Aetna, "Aetna facts," accessed August 7, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ CNBC, "'So much wrong': Aetna CEO blasts Obamacare tech debacle," October 14, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Aetna, "Health insurance marketplace," accessed March 23, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 CNBC, "Aetna may pull out of Obamacare: CEO," February 6, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Hill, "Aetna voices 'serious concerns' on ObamaCare sustainability," February 1, 2016
- ↑ NPR, "Aetna Joins Other Major Insurers In Pulling Back From Obamacare," August 16, 2016
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Political Parties Seize on Aetna’s Health-Exchange Pullback," August 16, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Trump pounces on Obamacare’s latest woes, says Aetna exodus a sign of ‘imploding’ law," August 16, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedGo - ↑ Aetna Foundation, "Timeline," accessed March 10, 2016
- ↑ Aetna Foundation, "Mission and vision," accessed March 10, 2016
- ↑ Reuters, "Clinton has 'serious concerns' about Aetna-Humana, Anthem-Cigna mergers," October 21, 2015
- ↑ Healthcare Dive, "Proposed Aetna-Humana merger under antitrust regulatory fire," March 21, 2016
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Politico, "DOJ files lawsuits to block mergers of insurance giants," July 21, 2016
- ↑ Reuters, "U.S. regulators sue to block Anthem-Cigna, Aetna-Humana insurer mergers," July 21, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Judge blocks major health insurance merger," January 23, 2017
| |||||||
