AETNA TURNS TO ACCORDANT HEALTH SERVICES FOR DISEASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

Accordant to provide disease management services for less common, chronic diseases to local Aetna members in Atlanta and portions of Florida

GREENSBORO, N.C. ---- Accordant Health Services (AHS) and Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) recently announced a signed contract for Accordants constellation of complex, chronic disease management (DM) programs. Accordant, a specialized DM company focusing on less common, chronic diseases, will offer Aetna HMO plan members in the Atlanta area and certain portions of Florida a range of DM programs, including cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease) and Lupus.
We recognize the benefits of offering disease management strategies to improve the health outcomes of our chronically ill members," states Mitchell Z. Berger, M.D., senior medical director of Aetna Inc., Southeast. Accordant offers proven intervention strategies and timely, patient-centric programs to serve the unique healthcare needs of this member population."
Accordant CEO Steve Schelhammer asserts that DM programs are increasingly being embraced as crucial components of health improvement strategies in the Twenty-first Century. Our goals are clearly defined, with our services benefiting all constituents in
--more--
Aetna Turns to Accordant Health Services for DM Programs/2
the continuum of care: patients, providers, employers and payers," explains Schelhammer. Accordant programs are designed to both minimize and avoid medical complications, carefully monitoring the patients overall status to educate and maintain better health. Payers enjoy the benefit of significantly reduced costs within a defined patient population that traditionally accounts for a large, and escalating, segment of annual healthcare expenditures. Healthier patient members incur less absenteeism from the job, keeping employers happy, too."
Accordants comprehensive programs, as well as the companys Web site (www.accordant.net), also act as conduits of information and reliable communication links for caregivers, patients and their physicians.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading providers of health care and related group benefits, serving 15.6 million health care members, 12.4 million dental members and 11.5 million group insurance customers, as of January 1, 2002. Information about Aetna is available at www.aetna.com.

About Accordant
Accordant, based in Greensboro, N.C., focuses on assisting patients who have complex chronic diseases with the goal of improving clinical, patient satisfaction, and cost-of-care outcomes. The company relies on its expert Tele-Web" system that integrates Internet and call-center technologies to enable flexible, intelligent and customized information sharing among patients, providers and health plans. Accordant is a leader in population-based disease management for a constellation of complex, chronic diseases including multiple sclerosis, Lupus, Parkinsons, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia. Accordant has supported over 20,000 chronic patients whose participation has been sponsored by their health plan. Accordants Medical Advisory Board is comprised of national medical experts who participate in the development and continuous quality improvement of the companys programs. For more information about Accordant, visit www.accordant.com or call 1-800-948-2497.
# # #