Aetna Offers New Retiree Medical Plan

According to the announcement, the Aetna Medicare Open Plan provides national coverage for retirees and expands its Medicare product offerings in areas not already covered by Aetna Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO plans. The private fee-for-service Medicare Advantage plan allows Medicare-eligible retirees to go to any doctor or hospital that participates in Medicare and accepts Aetna’s guidelines and terms for payment.

The plan can be paired with Aetna’s national Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and can cover additional benefits such as eyeglass reimbursement and hearing aid reimbursement, the announcement said.

The offering also provides case management for older adults, a health risk assessment conducted by telephone upon enrollment, toll-free 24/7 access to registered nurses and Aetna’s MedQuery program that reviews member information to look for opportunities to improve care.

The plan will be available to employers for January 2007, pending approval by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Information can be found at www.aetna.com .