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HARTFORD, Conn., September 24, 2009 — The CEO Roundtable on Cancer today recognized Aetna (NYSE: AET) with a CEO Cancer Gold StandardTM accreditation for the company’s commitment to improving the health of employees and their families. To receive the accreditation, companies must evaluate their benefits and culture and take extensive, concrete actions in five key areas of health and wellness to fight cancer in the workplace. Aetna received the accreditation for establishing programs to reduce cancer risk by discouraging tobacco use and encouraging physical activity, healthy diet and nutrition; detecting cancer at its earliest stages; and providing access to quality care, including the availability of clinical trials.
“It is extremely gratifying to be recognized by the CEO Roundtable for Aetna’s work to implement programs that help prevent and treat cancer among our own 35,000 employees,” said Ronald A. Williams, Aetna Chairman and CEO. “The programs available to Aetna employees are often the testing ground for innovations that we make available to our customers. Receiving this award underscores Aetna’s commitment to being an employer focused on wellness for our own employees and the 19 million Americans with an Aetna health plan.” “By receiving this accreditation, Aetna joins a distinguished group of employers who are playing a pivotal role in the fight against cancer by encouraging healthy lifestyles and providing the resources to help employees quit smoking and focus on prevention,” said William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson, and the chair of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer. This nonprofit organization of cancer-fighting CEOs created the CEO Cancer Gold StandardTM, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, many of its designated cancer centers, the American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and leading corporate health professionals. With a focus on building a culture of health and wellness, Aetna offers a variety of programs, resources and incentives to help employees prevent and treat cancer, including: - Tobacco cessation - As part of Aetna’s efforts to establish and enforce a tobacco-free worksite policy, Aetna makes the Quit Tobacco program available to support employees and their families. Aetna employees and eligible family members can take advantage of the program at no cost. It provides telephonic coaching sessions with a tobacco cessation specialist, up to six weeks of nicotine replacement therapy, access to educational content and support resources and up to a six month supply of certain tobacco cessation prescription medications when enrolled in an Aetna medical plan.
- Nutrition and Weight Management – Aetna collaborates with the food service vendors to ensure that employees have healthy choices available to them in the cafeteria. Employees and eligible family members can earn incentives for reporting healthy eating behaviors through an online logging system. Incentives are earned for eating the recommended amount of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and low fat dairy, as well as limiting sodium, controlling portions and eating a healthy breakfast. In addition, Aetna employees have access to nutritional counselors and discounts at Jenny Craig, eDiets and Weight Watchers.
- Physical Activity – Aetna offers a variety of health and wellness programs aimed at increasing employees’ physical activity and achieving healthy lifestyles. The Get Active Aetna program, currently in its third year, is a 16-week team-oriented campaign that encourages employees to work together to become more active. Aetna employees also have access to fitness centers in many Aetna offices and discounts on gym memberships at thousands of gyms nationwide.
- Prevention, Screening and Early Detection - Aetna employees receive ongoing educational materials about age and gender-appropriate recommended cancer-screenings, as well as information through the Aetna Personal Health Record. These communications help to promote screening awareness among employees. In addition, Aetna employees receive recommended preventive care at no cost to them or their family members.
- Access to Quality Treatment and Clinical Trials – Aetna employees diagnosed with cancer have access to nurse case managers who can help employees find clinical trials and navigate the health care system to find quality cancer treatment.
About the CEO Roundtable on Cancer
The CEO Roundtable on Cancer was founded in 2001, when former President George H.W. Bush challenged a group of executives to "do something bold and venturesome about cancer within your own corporate families." The CEOs responded with the CEO Cancer Gold Standard encouraging its widespread adoption in workplaces across the country.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.8 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.
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