Aetna was among 52 employers that received the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award at the Leadership Summit sponsored by the National Business Group on Health’s (NBGH) Institute on the Costs and Health Effects of Obesity. Aetna received a Platinum Award in the "Healthy Weight, Healthy Lifestyles" category for demonstrating measurable success and documenting outcomes.

"Aetna’s employee wellness program is a critical component of our overall employee benefits plan, and a partner within the company’s total health management strategy," said Elease Wright, Senior Vice President, Human Resources. "The program’s goals promote positive health behaviors for optimal health and productivity, while helping to minimize Aetna’s medical liabilities due to illness and injury," Wright added.

According to Wright, Aetna’s wellness program is utilized by a large majority of its 35,000 employees nationwide and promotes appropriate utilization of the health care system, supports a healthy worksite culture, and enhances employee satisfaction with Aetna as an "employer of choice." Aetna’s employee wellness program includes prevention, early intervention, consumer health education, and community health advocacy programs. Aetna demographics, health assessment data and employee health claims data are used to prioritize program initiatives and set objectives, which complement national health goals and meet organizational needs. Intervention methods are designed to motivate participants at different stages of readiness for health behavior change and to help build decision-making skills for sound self-care management and long-term results.

"We are very pleased to honor Aetna for their innovation and commitment to providing lifestyle improvement programs designed to encourage healthier lifestyles for their employees," said Helen Darling, president of the NBGH. "Aetna and its management team should be proud of both their initiatives and ongoing support of helping employees to choose a healthier way of life," Darling added.

Now in its fourth year, the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards acknowledge and reward those employers that recognize the urgent need to improve their workers’ health, productivity and quality of life. The underlying goal of the program is to serve as a catalyst to encourage all employers to take action.

About the National Business Group on Health
The National Business Group on Health is the nation’s only non-profit, membership organization of large employers devoted exclusively to finding innovative and forward-thinking solutions to their most important health care and related benefits issues. For more information about the NBGH, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org

About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.3 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. www.aetna.com