Business
Aetna unveils end-of-life benefits
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 24, 2004
Aetna has announced a new initiative, to be rolled out on a pilot basis next January, that will pay for end-of-life care, including hospice and palliative services, respite care for family members and grief counseling for survivors.
The benefits package will be made available free of charge to several of Aetna's large customers with a subscriber base of about 400,000, said John W. Rowe, MD, chair and CEO. The company will monitor the effectiveness and cost of the program, named Aetna Compassionate Care, and then plans to begin offering the benefits to all group and individual customers, probably about the middle of 2005, Dr. Rowe said.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/05/24/bibf0524.htm.
