Aetna Announces Grant to Northwestern for Development of Strategies to Improve Health Equity

CHICAGO--(Business Wire)--
Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced a grant of nearly $300,000 to the Center for
Healthcare Equity (CHE) at the Institute for Healthcare Studies at Northwestern
University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. The grant will support
research and community outreach projects and other initiatives to stimulate
improvements in health care equity and overall quality of care for all
populations.

The grant was announced by Anne Beal, MD, MPH, president of the Aetna
Foundation, who spoke today as part of a visiting professorship at Feinberg`s
Institute for Healthcare Studies Seminar Series on the topic of achieving racial
and ethnic equity in health care.

"For nearly a decade, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have worked to establish
racial and ethnic equity in health care through financial support of programs
that seek solutions to this persistent problem in our health care system," said
Anne C. Beal, MD, MPH, president, Aetna Foundation, Inc. "Research shows that,
unfortunately, racial and ethnic health disparities exist in Chicago. Through
this and other grants, we are trying to do our part to promote health equity
here."

In 2009, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation gave more than $450,000 in grants and
sponsorships to non-profits and other organizations in greater Chicago,
including efforts designed to improve health and promote health equity. These
awards include a $25,000 grant to the Robert Crown Center for Health Education
which is providing heath education classes for approximately 1600 students at
the Chicago Homan Square Campus. Another 2009 grant supported the Healthy Women
Obesity Reduction and Pre-Diabetes Program: La Vida Sana, La Vida Feliz (The
Healthy Life, The Happy Life) at the Erie Family Health Center.

"Together with the Center for Health Equity, we will continue to move forward
not only to understand the root causes of these disparities in our health care
system, but also to create real, workable strategies and actions that can help
solve this issue," Beal said.

The Northwestern grant will support three separate projects including:

* Research into the role of health literacy in reducing disparities in chronic
disease management;
* A study of the role health information technology systems might play in
reducing disparities in health care; and
* A collaboration with the Chicago Department of Public Health to document the
health status of Chicago residents in 77 neighborhoods along with the health
care resources available to them. Results of this survey will be announced at a
city-wide summit, as well as community-based meetings.

"We are very excited about working with Aetna and the Aetna Foundation. With
their support, together we can stimulate improvements in health care equity in
the Chicago area and nationally," said Romana Hasnain-Wynia, PhD, director,
Center for Healthcare Equity, Institute for Healthcare Studies and research
associate professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "We
are targeting projects that move beyond documenting problems to implementing
solutions, which is very exciting."

About the Aetna Foundation

The Aetna Foundation is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of
Aetna Inc. Since 1980, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed over $379
million in grants and sponsorships. As a national health foundation, we promote
wellness, health, and access to high-quality health care for everyone. This work
is enhanced by the time and commitment of Aetna employees, who have volunteered
nearly 2 million hours since 2003. Our current giving is focused on addressing
the rising rate of adult and childhood obesity in the U.S.; promoting racial and
ethnic equity in health and health care; and advancing integrated health care.
For more information visit www.AetnaFoundation.org.

About Aetna

Aetna (NYSE: AET) is one of the nation`s leading diversified health care
benefits companies, serving approximately 36.1 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.

About the Center for Healthcare Equity

The Center for Healthcare Equity is dedicated to eliminating disparities in
health care and improving the quality of care for all individuals. Our goal is
for every person to get the highest quality of health care possible, regardless
of age, gender, race, ethnicity, cultural beliefs, language, socioeconomic
status, or health literacy. We have outstanding multidisciplinary research
programs and educational initiatives that include affiliated faculty from across
the Feinberg School of Medicine (www.feinberg.northwestern.edu). We also have
active national and local partnerships with researchers, health care leaders,
policymakers and community clinics. Patients are our partners, and they have
provided invaluable insights into the challenges they face and suggestions about
designing interventions. Together, we conduct studies that examine the root
causes of disparities, evaluate innovative solutions, and translate our findings
to practice to achieve our goal of equity in health care.

for Aetna
Scot Roskelley, 312-928-3034
RoskelleyE@aetna.com
or
Susan Millerick, 860-273-0536
MillerickS@aetna.com
or
Marla Paul, 312-503-8920
Marla-Paul@northwestern.edu

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