Aetna For All Your Insurance Needs
Aetna is arguably one of the more widely recognized names in the health insurance industry. With corporate headquarters in Hartford, Conn., and some 27,000 employees, this company touts its affiliation with more Fortune 1000 companies than any of its competitors. Aetna
provides health insurance plans across the United States for employers of all sizes, and is even associated with Medicare benefits in limited regions.
According to the Aetna
website (www.aetna.com) the company began operation in 1850. The name of the company, Aetna, was reportedly taken from Mt. Etna, then the most active volcano in Europe. Apparently, founders of the venture were "awed by the strength" of the volcano, located on the shores of Sicily.
While the company's history predates the Civil War, and many people might think of that as a negative, Aetna apparently built on a prosperous national economy as the war ended and the nation began to recover. With massive casualties on the battlefields, many life insurance companies simply tried to hold on. It was in this climate that Aetna began to expand its services and offered salesmen a larger commission in an effort to recruit and retain a dedicated workforce. Over the next few decades, Aetna began issuing farm mortgages and accident policies, offered the first health insurance policy in 1899, the first automobile insurance policy just eight years later, and the first group health insurance policy just six years after that.
Always a leader in insurance issues, Aetna launched a program in 2004 to address the issues of those facing end-of-life needs. According to a news release included on the Aetna website, the program is designed to give patients and their families the control and support that sometimes gets lost with end-of-life situations. The program, dubbed Compassionate Care, became effective in 2005 and was aimed at giving patients the right to retain their dignity, even in the end stages of debilitating diseases. Arguably one of the most important changes this program offers is the ability of patients to take advantage of hospice care while still seeking curative treatments. Under most insurance plans, a patient must give up treatments in order for the insurance to cover the cost of hospice. Aetna Compassionate Care has also expanded the life expectancy clause for hospice coverage. Under the former rules, hospice wasn't an option unless doctors estimated the life expectancy of a patient at six months or less. The Compassionate Care option expands that timeframe to one year. For more information about Compassionate Care and other Aetna Insurance benefits, check out the company's website.
