Aetna HealthFund study shows sustained cost savings for Aetna members

Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced the results of a study of health care claims and utilization for members in its Aetna HealthFund^® consumer-directed plans. The study of two million Aetna members shows sustained savings over time and increased member engagement in their health.

The study results show that members with a Health Savings Account (HSA) had more than 15 percent lower primary care physician use for non-routine visits, and more than 10 percent lower overall medical costs than members in a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan. The results also show that HSA members are more involved in their health care - they are two and a half times more likely to use online tools and three times more likely to take a health assessment than their PPO counterparts.

“Everyone is looking for ways to keep health care costs in check. Our customers are looking to us to provide solutions that allow them to continue to offer competitive benefits to their employees”

The Aetna HealthFund study comprised 137 plan sponsors who offered an Aetna HealthFund Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) and/or an Aetna HealthFund HSA. The study looked at two million members across the spectrum of Aetna medical products, including 436,000 Aetna HealthFund members. These are some key findings:

• For full replacement HRA and HSA plans, employers saved $18 million per 10,000 members over five years.
• Employers who offer Aetna HealthFund HRA and HSA plans as an option experienced savings of $9 million per 10,000 members over five years for the total population, not just those people enrolled in an Aetna HealthFund plan.

"At Adobe, we have a set of core values -- genuine, exceptional, innovative, involved -- that inform every decision we make, including decisions about the health benefits we offer our employees," said Teresa Tracy, manager, Global Benefits and Mobility at Adobe, a plan sponsor who was part of the study. "We know that employees count on us to offer them a variety of health plan options to fit their individual needs. Since we began offering the Aetna HealthFund plan in 2005 our employees have become better informed consumers of health care and more engaged in making decisions about how to spend their health care dollars."

The results also show that Aetna HealthFund members continue to get the care they need. Specifically, members in the Aetna HealthFund plans:

• Spent more on preventive care and accessed higher levels of screenings for breast and cervical cancer as compared to members in traditional PPO plans. In addition, diabetics are accessing screenings at higher rates than diabetic members in traditional PPO plans.
• Visited the emergency room less than their PPO counterparts.
• Used the prescription drugs necessary to treat chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure and high cholesterol at rates similar to PPO members.
• Used generic drugs at higher rates than members in a PPO plan.

"Everyone is looking for ways to keep health care costs in check. Our customers are looking to us to provide solutions that allow them to continue to offer competitive benefits to their employees," said Aetna President Mark Bertolini. "This research shows that the Aetna HealthFund plans are consistently successful at managing health care costs and engaging consumers in their health."

In past years, Aetna has identified several best practices for employers to successfully implement a consumerism strategy and achieve better overall results. This year's study continues to validate the importance of the best practices, which include:

• Fostering a culture where employees and senior executives are engaged health care consumers.
• Implementing a focused and ongoing employee education campaign.
• Offering wellness programs and incentives for healthy behavior.
• Providing 100 percent preventive care coverage.
• Carefully constructing a plan with the right mix of member responsibility.
• Steering employees to the consumer-directed health plan choice by lowering the employee contribution or increasing the fund amount.

"We began offering a consumer-directed health plan in June 2004 as a way to balance our desire to offer associates health benefits that they find valuable with the need to find a solution that could help us manage health care costs," said Michael Plotzke, chief financial officer at Plastipak Holdings, a plan sponsor who was part of the study. "We knew that in order to achieve success with the Aetna HealthFund plan we needed to work with associates to help them understand how the plans work and provide them with ongoing communications throughout the year. As a result of this educational outreach and incentives to engage associates in leading healthier lives, we have been able to manage our health care costs and achieve the goals we set out when we implemented a consumer-directed strategy."