Aetna (NYSE:AE) is America’s foremost health care benefits company. It offers a wide range of conventional and consumer directed health care insurance policies and plans, and all health care related services such as dental, behavioral health, medical, pharmacy, group life, disability plans, medical management capabilities, and long-term care. It is also a proud member of the Fortune 100. Fortune 100 refers to the best 100 American public corporations or firms as determined by their annual gross revenues.
The company’s vision has always been to provide health and financial benefits to all its plan holders with the highest degree of customer satisfaction. Benefits are extended to customers with the aid of safe and accessible, cost effective and superior quality health care services. Aetna strives and does its best to protect the finances of its clients against health related troubles. Aetna has an opulent heritage when in comes to caring for the public health system. It pioneered the development of numerous innovative health care benefits and products. Whether you’re an employer or an individual, there will always be an Aetna plan that will surely meet your needs.
Let us track Aetna’s milestones to better understand what made Aetna the successful health care benefits provider that it is today. Aetna actually started as an Annuity Fund to vend life insurance organized by Aetna Insurance Company in 1850. This Annuity department later became Aetna Life Insurance Company with Eliphalet A. Bulkeley becoming its first president. The name Aetna was enthused by the most active volcano in Europe found in Sicily, Mt. Etna.
It was in 1861 that Aetna began selling participating life insurance policies. A plan that paid policyholders with dividends just as mutual’s did. This strategy coupled with aggressive promotional efforts gave Aetna better ability to compete in the marketplace. The outbreak of Civil War and the terror it produced sparked the surge of need for life insurance purchases so by the end of the war, Aetna became one of America’s leading life insurers.
Aetna entered the arena of health insurance in 1899. The company was one of the first stock insurance companies to participate in the health insurance business. The new product was then offered only to Aetna accident or life insurance policyholders only and was aimed to spur sales of the mentioned insurances. Liability coverage was later on offered by Aetna in 1902 in response to the gained political momentum of the social reform movements. Liability coverage further branched out into lines of property and casualty insurances. Aetna’s first corporate seal was introduced in 1904. The Aetna logo conveyed the company’s status as the biggest life insurer in the world, ranging from accident, life, health to liability coverage.
From then on, Aetna’s continues to grow and expand. By 1912, they are already offering automobile policies combined with several coverages in just one contract. And a year after that, Aetna formed a Group department to sell group life insurance which was the foundation of Aetna’s current health care business.
Today, Aetna is catering to the health care needs of 15.8 million medical members, 13.185 million dental members, 10.586 million pharmacy members, 13.68 million group insurance members, 700,000 health-care professionals, 418,000 primary-care doctors and specialists and more than 4,000 hospitals.
