(By Balaseshan) Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET), a diversified healthcare benefits company, said it has received the Medicare Advantage contract from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), effective January 1, 2013.
Aetna currently administers the fund's group retiree plan, TRS-Care, which covers more than 226,000 retired public school employees and their dependents.
As part of its ongoing relationship with TRS, Aetna would enroll eligible TRS-Care participants in an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan designed to provide enhanced benefits at a lower cost than their current benefits arrangement.
Eligible TRS-Care participants who take part in an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan would enjoy: lower premiums than the current TRS-Care premiums; a significantly lower deductible; healthy lifestyle coaching and access to other programs to help members stay healthy and address their health conditions; and a standard health club membership at no extra cost.
Aetna's Public & Labor business President Cain Hayes said the company has been working closely with TRS leadership to address the plan's financial challenges and it believes this offering is the right solution for both the plan and members.
A clinical innovator, Aetna is focused on offering programs and services that help lead to better health outcomes through collaborative care coordination for Medicare Advantage members.
In 2011, Aetna launched a hypertension program shown to help Aetna Medicare Advantage members lower their blood pressure and improve screening rates. The hypertension program is one of several programs to which eligible TRS-Care participants will have access.
AET is trading up 0.71% at $38.30 on Tuesday. The stock has been trading between $33.42 and $51.14 for the past 52 weeks.