ORLANDO, Fla., October 30, 2008 ? Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that it has reached agreement with the Orlando Health physicians group on a three-year contract renewal. Under the new contract, Aetna for the first time will have a direct contract with South Seminole Behavioral Specialists, a behavioral health physicians group that serves Central Florida.



South Seminole Behavioral Specialists added to central Florida network

"Aetna is very pleased to offer its Central Florida members in-network access to behavioral health services," said Jim McCunney, Aetna's vice president of network development for Central Florida. "In an environment of rising health care costs, this new agreement is good news for our members."

Aetna also recently renewed its hospital agreement with Orlando Health, a 1,780-bed system that includes:

?Orlando Regional Medical Center;

?Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children;

?Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies;

?Lucerne Hospital;

?Dr. P. Phillips Hospital;

?South Lake Hospital;

?South Seminole Hospital; and

?M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando.

Earlier this year, Aetna also signed a five-year agreement with the Orlando Health Visiting Nurse Association. That contract took effect in August.

Orlando Health is a $1.5 billion not-for-profit health care organization and a community-based network of nine hospitals and care centers in the Orlando region. The organization, which includes the area's only Level One Trauma Centers for adults and pediatrics, is a statutory teaching hospital system that offers both specialty and community hospitals. They are: Orlando Regional Medical Center; Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children; Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies; Lucerne Hospital; Dr. P. Phillips Hospital; South Seminole Hospital; South Lake Hospital (50 percent partnership); St. Cloud Regional Medical Center (20 percent partnership) and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando - the first affiliate of one of the nation's premier cancer centers, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Orlando Health's areas of clinical excellence are heart and vascular, cancer care, neurosciences, surgery, pediatric orthopedics and sports medicine, neonatology, and obstetrics and gynecology.

Orlando Health is Central Florida's fifth-largest employer with nearly 14,000 employees and more than 2,000 affiliated physicians.

Aetna provides and administers health benefits to more than 225,000 members in Central Florida. Those members have access to a contracted network of 35 hospitals, 1,626 primary care physicians and 4,434 specialists.

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.2 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, 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.