“Among the nation’s health plans, Aetna is considered the industry leader in efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Aetna is putting the data to work in its chronic disease management, breast health, and African American Preterm Labor Prevention and Breastfeeding programs.”(March/April 2005)
InsuranceNewsNet.com
“Aetna's new quality of care grant program complements the Aetna Foundation's existing regional grants program, which also focuses on addressing health care disparities. The 14 grants range in dollar amount from $50,000 to $300,000, with most falling in the $150,000 range. Eighty percent of the grants represent funding of brand new initiatives.”
Yahoo.com“'Under a $25,000 grant provided by the Aetna Foundation, Hispanic people who don't speak English are receiving important health education and learning the most effective ways to access Florida's health care system. Aetna is delighted by the progress of the Hispanic Health Initiative,’” said Dr. Valerie Beckles, Aetna's medical director for South Florida. “People of Hispanic descent are at increased risk for a number of chronic diseases, and therefore need to be acutely aware of the factors that impact those ailments. Awareness efforts such as this, coupled with consistent follow up over time, hold great potential for improving the health of people in the South Florida Hispanic community.”
U.S. Newswire.com
“The Children's Defense Fund is proud to be joining Aetna in combating the racial disparities in children's health,” said Marian Wright Edelman, president of CDF. “Every child deserves a healthy start in life, but America has not invested the resources or shown the commitment to making sure that minority and poor children have the same access to and standard of care that all other children have. This partnership between the Children's Defense Fund and Aetna will produce the kind of evidence and concrete steps that can result in the reduction of disparities among children based on race. When racial disparities in children finally disappear, another roadblock to equal opportunity and success will be removed.”
Center for Health Care Strategies
“HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) today announced a new public-private partnership, the National Health Plan Learning Collaborative to Reduce Disparities and Improve Quality, which is designed to help reduce disparities in health care for people with diabetes and other conditions. This collaborative brings together nine of the nation's largest health insurance plans: Aetna, CIGNA, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Health Partners, Highmark Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group (UnitedHealthcare, Ovations)
“All of us in the collaborative are committed to addressing the issue of disparities in health care,” said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. “This is a wonderful example of the kind of public-private partnership needed to address widely the substantial challenge of reducing complications from diabetes in this country.”(Center for Health Care Strategies)
Hispanic PR Wire.com
“Racial and ethnic disparities in health care have become a critical issue as minorities are projected to make up 41.5 percent of the American workforce by 2008. Over the past two years, Aetna has focused on reducing disparities in health care among racial and ethnic populations through an integrated business and philanthropic approach.”
Investors.com
“Since 2001, Aetna has awarded more than $7.5 million through the Regional Grants Program, including $5 million for initiatives that address racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Our main goal is to develop a standard cultural competency curriculum for physicians and other health care professionals serving Grady Health System,” said Suzanne Rogers, interim executive director for the Henry W. Grady Foundation. “Aetna's generosity allows us to educate physicians about the obstacles many minorities face in the health care system.”(investors.com)
