Questions and answers

Why did Aetna choose to pursue minority health care initiatives?

As one of the nation’s largest health plans, Aetna reflects the country’s increasing diversity in race, ethnicity and language through its membership. We are committed to improvement of services for preventive health, early detection and disease management for health conditions most prevalent in specific race or ethnic groups. Efforts to reduce disparities in health care could ultimately improve care and reduce overall health care costs.

How can Aetna hope to influence such a pervasive problem in our country?

Aetna has taken a leadership role in finding and implementing solutions to the problem of health care disparities and is currently serving as a catalyst for change. We are encouraging researchers at the nation’s leading academic institutions and engaging community-based organizations to identify and address variations in health status and health care delivery among racial and ethnic populations.

Since inception of the Aetna Foundation’s Regional Grants Program in 2001, $5 million has been awarded to address health disparities. In 2005, the program will offer up to $2.6 million with a focus on: (1) cultural competency training and education, including end-of-life care and (2) disease prevention, awareness and the delivery of culturally sensitive care and services related to children’s oral health, diabetes and depression.

Aetna is a member of the National Health Plan Learning Collaborative to Reduce Disparities and Improve Quality. The goal of this public-private partnership led by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is to identify the causes of racial and ethnic disparities.

Why should employers be concerned about addressing the health care needs of a diverse workforce? 

Providing employees of all racial and ethnic backgrounds with access to quality health care benefits and resources can help them stay healthy. Employers, in turn, will benefit from increased productivity, lower absenteeism and, possibly, lower health care cost increases.

Does Aetna have a confidentiality policy concerning race, ethnicity and language?

Yes, Aetna has developed policies and procedures to protect member information, including race, ethnicity and language preference information, against inappropriate use and disclosure. Information that can be linked to an individual member may be used only for the purposes of:

• Preventive health, early detection and disease management programs and processes.
• Assessment of the Aetna provider networks’ ability to meet race, ethnicity, culture and language communication needs and preferences of our member population.
• Quality improvement, management or assessment programs and processes.
• Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and other accreditation organizations.
• Performance measurement and outcomes measurement.
• Satisfying state and federal requirements.

What will it take to close the racial and ethnic divide in health care quality?

Eliminating the divide in health care quality is a challenge of immense complexity. But solutions are gradually becoming evident, and they are within our reach. Emphasis must be placed on encouraging healthy lifestyles, timely screenings, accessible medication and regular care. Language and cultural barriers must come down. At the very least, patients must be given tools that help them to speak more confidently and effectively with their health care providers.

How will you know when you have been successful? 

In the past, health plans like Aetna have not systematically collected data on race and ethnicity. Success of our initiatives will be achieved if we can: (1) establish a baseline representative of the demographic composition of Aetna’s membership; and (2) collect, maintain and present data on race and ethnicity that leads to the development of effective and cost-efficient member education, health prevention and patient care management programs.