Santa Clara, CA -- March 19, 2003 -- AeA, the nation’s largest high-tech trade association, today announced the addition of Aetna HealthFund, a consumer-directed health plan, to its employee health benefits offerings. More than 1.8 million AeA high-tech workers in more than 3,000 member companies will now be able to direct their own health care spending as part of an employer-sponsored health benefits plan.

"When our members came to us requesting a cost-effective flexible plan to cover their health care needs, we knew that Aetna would be responsive," noted Bill Archey, AeA president and CEO. "The AeA Aetna HealthFund^TM plan provides our diverse membership with an expanded portfolio of plan choices to meet the challenge of rising health care costs for employers and their employees."

Aetna HealthFund offers the comprehensive coverage of a traditional health plan, plus a unique health fund benefit that allows member to choose the covered medical services they want from their choice of health care professionals. Fund amounts can range from $250 (individual) to $1,000 (family) with members controlling how those dollars are spent on covered services. If the member uses all available dollars in the health fund, he or she must then meet a deductible before receiving additional coverage under the benefits plan. Aetna HealthFund provides first-dollar coverage for preventive services, such as annual physicals, mammograms and well-child care, not subject to the annual deductible or deduction from the fund. Unused dollars in the fund can be carried over to provide additional plan coverage the following year.

"Consumer-directed products like Aetna HealthFund empower members to make the best decisions for their own personal needs," said Mike Robinson, West Region vice president for Aetna National Accounts. "Employees are essentially spending their own money, which we expect will help them to become more informed health care consumers."

Aetna HealthFund includes the Aetna Navigator^TM online member information tool that helps employees get the most value from their plans. Through Aetna Navigator, members can compare hospital outcomes data, track health fund expenditures and claim status, and link to the Aetna InteliHealth^TM website, which delivers online consumer health information through an in-house editorial staff and relationships with Harvard Medical School and the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.

Soon, members will also gain access to physician performance summaries and average cost information to help them better manage their health fund dollars.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation’s leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care products, serving approximately 13.7 million medical members, 11.8 million dental members and 11.7 million group insurance customers, as of December 31, 2002. The company has expansive nationwide networks of more than 552,000 health care services providers, including over 332,000 primary care and specialist physicians and 3,373 hospitals. For more information about Aetna, please visit the company’s Web site at www.aetna.com.