HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 2004--Aetna (NYSE:AET) today announced a comprehensive new program of expanded benefits, nurse case management and information to help members and their families cope more effectively with the complex and emotional issues involved in care at the end of life. The program also provides tools and information to encourage advance planning for the kind of issues often associated with end-of-life care.
The industry-leading benefits package, which will be available to a number of large customers in January 2005, includes broadened coverage for hospice and palliative services and provides coverage for curative care while in hospice. Additionally, the program provides coverage for respite care and bereavement care services.
“Today, our health care system is failing to meet the needs of the dying, which can include pain and symptom management, help in achieving a sense of control, and support for the emotional and spiritual needs of both patients and their caregivers,” said John W. Rowe, M.D., Aetna chairman and CEO.
“Too often, people are unaware that they have choices when they are in advanced stages of a disease. This program allows people to continue to get the medical treatment that they and their physicians believe is important while enabling patients to achieve the commonly voiced objective of dying with dignity, in a place where they are comfortable, with those whom they love most. We want people to know their options and feel empowered to make meaningful decisions in concert with their family and physicians.
“We’re launching this program because it is the right thing to do,” Rowe said. “It’s not about reducing medical costs or saving money. It’s about giving people choices and autonomy in the care they receive at the end of their lives. We worked with a team of highly respected thought leaders to develop an innovative, best-in-class program, and as a geriatrician, I am extremely proud to offer it to our customers and members.”
The company will offer the new Aetna Compassionate Care(SM) program to several large plan sponsors representing more than 400,000 members beginning in January 2005. Aetna will work closely with these customers to study the program’s effectiveness, costs, clinical outcomes and communications challenges, and will use the experience to support evidence-based decisions on how to improve the program and broaden its availability in the future.
“This program provides an opportunity for us to provide additional services and benefits to our employees coping with the complex and emotional issues associated with care at the end of life, as well as to gain a deeper understanding of how we can support improvements in the quality of care our employees and their families receive,” said David Kostelanksy, Corporate Director, Human Resources & Benefits, FMC Technologies. “We often find that employees don’t have access to the kinds of information they need to make informed decisions, so we’re pleased that a component of the program involves accessible and easy-to-understand tools and information.”
“Aetna has demonstrated a commitment to raising the bar on the quality of care near the end of life for Americans. By launching its Compassionate Care program, Aetna has taken a leadership position in addressing one of the major gaps in our health care system in a manner that is easily accessible and culturally sensitive,” said Karen Kaplan, M.P.H., Sc.D., president and CEO of Last Acts Partnership. “The company has launched this program because its leaders believe deeply that it is the right thing to do, and we applaud that approach to health care.”
The Aetna Compassionate Care program has three key components:
-- Expanded benefits. Members whose plan sponsors provide the Aetna Compassionate Care program as part of their benefit package will be eligible for these benefits, which are in addition to traditional hospice services, when their doctor certifies that there is a likelihood of death over the next 12 months.
-- Coverage for curative care while in hospice. Traditionally, entry into a hospice program has been premised on two key requirements that have been significant barriers to entry: a doctor’s certification of the likelihood that the patient will die in six months, and the patient agreeing to forego further curative treatments. To maximize the valuable benefit of hospice services, Aetna is broadening the opportunity to enter into hospice services for people with a life expectancy of approximately 12 months. In addition, members will not be precluded from continuing to seek curative care at any point while in the program.
-- Respite Care services. Caregivers can benefit from taking a break from the daily routine of caring for a very ill person. Respite care is short-term, temporary care for patients with complex, often terminal illnesses that is designed to give their caregivers the rest or “respite,” they need. Aetna’s Compassionate Care program provides coverage for up to 360 hours of respite care.
-- Bereavement care services. Grief counseling is also a component of the program, available to the Aetna member who has experienced the death of a family member or friend and feels the need for this support. Aetna’s Compassionate Care program provides coverage for up to 12 months of bereavement care services.
-- Case management services. Aetna’s nurse case managers have long provided end-of-life care coordination as part of their responsibilities. However, our vision for the Compassionate Care program takes these capabilities to the next level.
-- A comprehensive training program, under way now, will make supporting these members a core competency among Aetna’s 385 nurse case managers.
-- The nurses are being fully trained to assess and manage members’ care in a culturally sensitive manner, helping to improve pain and other symptom management, improve continuity of care, improve advance care planning, expand personal support, and encourage better use of community-based services and resources.
-- To develop and deliver this training, Aetna has worked with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, America’s oldest and largest nonprofit membership organization representing hospice and palliative care programs and professionals across the country. These enhanced case management services will be immediately available to all Aetna members.
-- Information and tools. User-friendly, culturally sensitive and easily accessible decision support tools and information for consumers regarding palliative care and end-of-life care have not been widely available. Aetna’s Web-based “resource center” at www.aetna.com or directly at www.aetnacompassionatecareprogram.com, features:
-- General information on end-of-life and palliative care issues
-- Advance planning tools
-- Discussion tips to facilitate conversations
-- Advance directives forms
-- Living wills and much more
In addition, for members in the program who do not have Web capabilities, the information will be available by mail.
Research supports the need for attention and focus on matters associated with end-of-life care, including these findings:
-- Nationally, only 25 percent of deaths occur at home, although more than 70 percent of Americans say that this is where they would prefer to die (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
-- Many people dying in institutions have unmet needs for symptom amelioration, physician communication, emotional support, and being treated with respect (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2004)
-- Experts agree that patients need at least 60 days of hospice care to maximize its benefits; however, the median length of stay for hospice patients was 20.5 days in 2001 (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization)
-- Medical experts agree that at least 90 percent to 95 percent of all serious pain can be safely and effectively treated, yet at least half of all dying patients report being in pain (Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 1996)
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, serving approximately 13.3 million medical members, 11.2 million dental members, 8.1 million pharmacy members and 12.4 million group insurance customers, as of March 31, 2004. The company has extensive nationwide networks of more than 618,000 health care services providers, including over 370,000 primary care and specialist physicians and 3,783 hospitals. For more information about Aetna, please visit the company’s web site at www.aetna.com.
Contacts
Aetna Media:
Jill B. Griffiths, 860-273-8162 GriffithsJB@aetna.com or
Susan G. Millerick, 860-273-0536 MillerickS@aetna.com or
Investor: David W. Entrekin, 860-273-7830 entrekind@aetna.com