Aetna Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Aetna Inc.

Aetna's headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut.
Type	Subsidiary
Traded as	NYSE: AET (delisted)
Industry	Managed health care
Founded	May 28, 1853; 172 years ago (1853-05-28) (as Aetna Life Insurance Company)
Founder	Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley
Headquarters	Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Area served	United States and expatriates
Key people	Karen S. Lynch (CEO, CVS Health) Dan Finke (president, Health Care Benefits Segment (HCB), Aetna)
Products	Health insurance
Revenue	$60.6 billion (2018)
Number of employees	47,950 (2018)
Parent	CVS Health (2018–present)
Subsidiaries	Aetna Better Health Active Health Management Aetna International First Health PPO Network Meritain Health

Aetna Inc. (pronounced ET-nuh) is a large American company. It helps people get health insurance and other health-related services. These services include medical, dental, and pharmacy plans. Many people get Aetna insurance through their jobs. Aetna also works with Medicare, which is a government health program. Since 2018, Aetna has been part of CVS Health.

Aetna has a huge network of doctors, hospitals, and health experts. It serves millions of people across the United States. The company's name comes from Mount Etna, a famous volcano in Europe.

History
Life Insurance Policies on Enslaved People
See Also

History

How Aetna Started

In 1819, Thomas Kimberly Brace helped start the Aetna (Fire) Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut. He was the company's first president.
In 1820, Brace helped change the company's rules. This allowed Aetna to start offering life insurance. Because of this, he is sometimes called the "father" of American life insurance.
On May 28, 1853, the part of Aetna that handled life insurance became its own company. It was named the Aetna Life Insurance Company. Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley became its first president.
In 1854, Aetna hired its first full-time employee, Thomas O. Enders. He later became president of the company.
The company moved to new offices in Hartford in 1857. During a tough economic time, Eliphalet Bulkeley stopped the company from closing down.

Aetna Insurance Company and Aetna National Bank, Hartford, Conn, stereoscopic view, around 1860

In the 1860s, Aetna started offering life insurance policies that paid out extra money to policyholders. This was similar to other types of life insurance.
During the American Civil War, sales of life insurance policies grew a lot.
By 1864, Aetna's business had grown six times bigger than in 1861. Its yearly income from premiums was over one million dollars.
In 1867, the company's income grew even more. Aetna moved to a new main office in Hartford.
In 1872, Eliphalet A. Bulkeley passed away. Thomas O. Enders took over as president.
In 1879, Enders resigned. Eliphalet Bulkeley's son, Morgan G. Bulkeley, became the new president.
In 1888, Aetna bought its first office building. It was their main office for the next 42 years.
Aetna started offering accident policies in 1891.
By 1899, Aetna began offering health insurance policies.

The 1900s

The Aetna headquarters building in Hartford, designed in 1931, is the largest colonial-revival building in the world.

In 1902, Aetna created a new department. This department offered insurance for employers and workers. It focused on making workplaces safer.
An Engineering and Inspection Division was started in 1903. Its goal was to improve safety at work.
In 1904, Aetna introduced its first company logo. It showed the company's office building coming out of a globe.
Aetna started offering car insurance in 1907. This business grew into the Aetna Casualty and Surety Company.
In 1908, Aetna hired its first female employee for the main office, Julia Kinghorn. She was a telephone operator.
By 1910, Aetna started using special machines to process information. They hired many women to help with this work.
In 1911, Aetna launched its first national advertising campaign.
In 1912, Aetna offered the first car insurance policy that combined several types of coverage.
In 1913, Aetna started a new company called the Automobile Insurance Company. It offered fire insurance for cars and other types of insurance. Aetna also started a department to sell group life insurance.
In 1917, Aetna's name changed to Aetna Casualty and Surety Co.

Aetna insurance being sold in Maryland in 1924

By 1924, Aetna had invested a lot of money in farm mortgages. That year, Aetna bought The Standard Fire Insurance Co.
In 1960, Aetna expanded outside the U.S. It bought a Canadian company.
In 1968, Aetna bought a large part of an Australian company. Also in 1968, Aetna's stock started being traded on the NYSE.
In 1981, Aetna invested in companies in Chile, England, Spain, and other countries.
In 1996, Aetna sold its property and casualty business. The company's name then changed to Aetna Inc.
Also in 1996, Aetna bought U.S. Healthcare.
In 1998, Aetna bought NYLCare Health Plans. This added 2.2 million members to Aetna.
In 1999, Aetna bought Prudential HealthCare. This made Aetna the biggest health benefits provider in the U.S. It had over 21 million members.

The 2000s

Aetna office in Whitpain Township in Pennsylvania, as seen in 2012

In 2000, John Rowe became Aetna's CEO and president. He made changes to the company. Aetna also sold some of its financial and international businesses.
In 2000, Aetna publicly apologized for selling life insurance policies on enslaved people in the 1850s.
In 2002, Aetna reduced its customer base. It stopped offering products in areas that were not profitable.
John Rowe stepped down as CEO in 2006.
In 2007, Aetna bought Schaller Anderson. This helped Aetna work more with Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
In 2008, Aetna started offering pet health insurance.

The 2010s

Aetna office building in Omaha, Nebraska

Aetna building and grounds in Bismarck, North Dakota

In 2010, Aetna and Continuum Health Partners had a disagreement about their contract. They later signed a new agreement.
Aetna bought Prodigy Health Group in 2011.
In 2012, Aetna introduced a new company logo.
Also in 2012, Aetna and Inova Health System created a new health insurance company called Innovation Health.
In 2013, Aetna bought Coventry Health Care for $5.7 billion.
From 2014 to 2017, Aetna renamed its Medicaid providers to Aetna Better Health.
In 2015, Aetna announced plans to buy Humana for $37 billion.
In 2017, a judge blocked Aetna's merger with Humana. The judge said it would give senior citizens fewer choices for Medicare. Aetna and Humana then ended their merger agreement.
Also in 2017, Aetna and Banner Health created a new health insurance company called Banner|Aetna.
In December 2017, CVS Health announced it would buy Aetna for $69 billion.
On November 28, 2018, CVS Health finished buying Aetna. Aetna's stock was then removed from the NYSE.

The 2020s

In November 2020, Karen Lynch became CEO of CVS.
In February 2021, Lynch announced that Aetna would start offering individual health plans through the ACA exchanges in 2022.

Life Insurance Policies on Enslaved People

In 2000, a researcher named Deadria Farmer-Paellmann found out that Aetna had sold life insurance policies on enslaved people from about 1853 to 1860. The owners of the enslaved people were named as the beneficiaries. This meant they would receive money if the enslaved person died.

Aetna confirmed that this was true and issued a public apology in 2000.

In 2002, Farmer-Paellmann filed a lawsuit against Aetna and other companies. The lawsuit asked for payments to the descendants of enslaved people. It argued that these companies benefited from slavery. The lawsuit was later dismissed.

In 2006, Farmer-Paellmann called for people to stop using Aetna's services. Aetna responded by saying it was working to help African-American communities. They said they were investing money in education, health, and supporting businesses owned by minorities. They believed this was a better way to help than making payments for past policies.

Aetna facts for kids

Contents