TEXT-S&P rates Aetna's senior unsecured notes 'A-'

May 1 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its
'A-' senior unsecured debt rating to Aetna Inc.'s (NYSE:AET) planned
issuance of $750 million in senior unsecured notes. The issuance will consist of
$250 million of five-year maturities and $500 million of 30-year maturities.

The rating on the new issuance reflects Aetna's very strong business profile,
earnings, and financial flexibility, and strong liquidity. Offsetting factors
include Aetna's exposure to moderately stressed industry fundamentals that we
expect to persist though 2012 and its relatively aggressive share repurchase
and stockholder dividend strategy.

We expect Aetna to use the offering proceeds to repay short-term debt and for
other general corporate purposes. We believe this effective restructuring of
Aetna's balance-sheet obligations will modestly enhance near-term liquidity
and financial flexibility. We expect Aetna to manage its adjusted
debt-to-capital ratio (including unfunded post-retirements obligations and the
net present value of operating leases) to about 35% in the near to
intermediate term. We expect EBITDA interest coverage (including imputed
interest on operating leases) to be more than 10x, which is conservative for
the rating category.

Aetna's liquidity position is currently strong, with expected cash and
marketable securities of $700 million to $1 billion at the holding company and
unregulated subsidiaries at year-end 2012. In 2012, we expect the holding
company to receive dividends of $1.7 billion to $2 billion from the operating
companies, of which approximately two-thirds will come from regulated
insurance subsidiaries, which is slightly more than ordinary dividend
capacity, which would support very strong debt service.

RATINGS LIST
Aetna Inc.
Counterparty Credit Rating A-/Positive/A-2

New Rating
$750 Mil. Sr. Unsec. Notes A-

RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
Holding Company Analysis, June 11, 2009

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