Senate action for expanding health care coverage commended by Aetna

Aetna (NYSE: AET) today commended the U.S. Senate for taking action to significantly expand access to health care coverage for millions of Americans. While noting progress toward meaningful reform, Aetna Chairman and CEO Ronald A. Williams said that more needs to be done to deliver on the full promise of health care system reform.

“Today, the Senate took an important step, but reform that doesn’t deal with affordability, tied to health care quality, is not a complete victory for consumers”

“Today, the Senate took an important step, but reform that doesn’t deal with affordability, tied to health care quality, is not a complete victory for consumers,” said Williams. “Guaranteeing that Americans cannot be denied insurance and enhancing coverage for millions of people are essential actions. When consumers win, we all win, and that can only happen if health care reform addresses both access and affordability. The Senate has not done enough on addressing costs and has actually exacerbated the problem of affordability by choosing to pay for reform through billions of dollars in additional taxes on the health care system which will be transferred to the consumer through higher costs and will therefore hurt health care affordability for the average American.

“It’s imperative that the House – Senate conference committee get the final outcome right. As a company with a track record of leadership in health care policy, we stand ready to work with the committee to craft a workable outcome that addresses health care affordability and truly helps get the best out of our health care system.”

To learn more about Aetna’s position on health care reform, visit www.healthreformplan.com on www.aetna.com.