• Types of Plans Offered
• Member Resources
• Unique Features
• Customer Service

Types of Plans Offered

Aetna has a large selection of insurance plans. They provide both family and individual plans, as well as benefits that customers can receive through their employer. In this sense, Aetna works directly with both people who are insured and organizations that provide insurance plans. Medical plans typically cover preventive medical care, immunizations, and some hospitalization. Aetna offers a wide variety of plans. Here are the main types of health plans they offer:

• Children's Health Insurance Program
• Medicaid
• Medicare
• Long-term and short-term plans
• Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)
• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)
• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
• Network-only plans
• Network-option plans
• Indemnity plans (in which you set the terms for which facility you take your insurance to)
• Retiree plans

In addition to health insurance plans, Aetan also offers dental and vision insurance:

• Dental Insurance. This is available only in Delaware, Alaska, Arizona, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Depending on your benefits, you can receive coverage for preventative care (such as cleanings), restorative work (such as fillings), and even major procedures like getting crowns.
• Vision Insurance. Aetna's vision benefits are accepted at Pearle Vision, LensCrafters, JCPenney Optical, Target Optical, and Sears Optical. Again, depending on your plan, your benefits can include coverage for contacts or glasses and eye exams. Aetna also offers stand-alone vision plans.

Finally, Aetna has a variety of other insurance plans to meet the needs of all consumers, including:

• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• Government and labor insurance
• Student insurance
• International insurance 

Member Resources

When it comes to tools for members, Aetna rises above its competitors. Customer service is an area where this company shines. Not only are Aetna representatives available around the clock through different mediums, but Aetna members also have access to several different tools to get calculations, answers to questions, and advice about claims. Anyone can search the company's website and get a tour of a member account before registering. This allows you to see what account access would look like. To see if the physician you currently see is in Aetna's network, there's an intuitive Find a Doctor tool online as well. Furthermore, after entering some personal information about your medical situation, you can get an estimate for how much your health insurance from Aetna would cost and what type of plan you qualify for.

Aetna members have online access to their account, through which they can pay a premium, view benefits, get an explanation of those benefits, find a doctor, and get an ID card. Online you can also order medications, view the status of a claim, ask questions to a virtual nurse 24/7, and get other estimates if needed. One of the key benefits here is 24/7 service. Another resource is that you receive discounts for gym memberships and weight loss programs. Aetna also provides tools that help you track your health (for example, by seeing your health history and statistics about your blood pressure). In this sense, Aetna delivers on their claim to keep you healthy (and not just pay for your medical bills).

Unique Features

Aetna has been in business for a very long time. Additionally, unlike some, Aetna offers some other types of insurance, such as dental, vision, life, and disability insurance. This adds flexibility to their plans and makes it easier for healthcare clients to come to Aetna for vision and dental needs as well. Aetna also claims to have one of the US's biggest networks of doctors and hospitals. This makes it more likely that the doctor you visit will be in-network for an Aetna plan-or, at least, it makes it so that you have a wide selection of doctors if you need to switch to Aetna's network. Aetna owns several subsidiaries in the healthcare industry. These include:

• Coventry Health Care
• Humana (which they very recently acquired)
• ActiveHealth Management
• Aetna Student Health
• Schaller Anderson
• Strategic Resource Company
• Aetna Capital Management
• Cofinity
• Medicity

Once a member, you have easy access to tools like Find a Pharmacy and the iTriage mobile app that Aetna came out with for your on-the-go healthcare needs. Using their Find a Doctor tool, you initially specify your search by state and type of doctor. Aetna also offers a tool to help you find the right plan for your situation, and there are pages on their website that describe the details of each of their plans.

Customer Service

Aetna prides itself on its customer service. They make their representatives available to customers via phone, email, mail, and even social media. There are a few different phone numbers you can use to contact someone at Aetna, but if you're a member, there is conveniently a specific member phone line to call. At any hour of the day, there is also a virtual nurse available for patients to go online and ask questions. The company website for Aetna is very informative and easy to navigate. Their FAQs sections largely focus on the logistics of managing your account. Aetna makes it very easy to find an answer if it doesn't already appear on the website. Also, you can expect to contact someone from Aetna 24/7 (using certain mediums) and you will be given information to make the best medical decisions for you.

• State Availability
• FAQs

State Availability

Aetna's plans are only available in certain states (these include Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia). The dental plans are even more limited, being available only in Delaware, Alaska, Arizona, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

FAQs

Aetna's website does provide plenty of FAQs sections, but they do not answer questions about prices, premiums, deductibles, and factors that affect these amounts (rather they focus on the logistics of account management).

Aetna is a highly recommended health insurance provider. Not only is their plan selection very large; they also provide willing and able customer service. With a long company history and plenty of member resources, this company is sure to deliver a plan that meets your needs.

Of course, for anyone who lives outside of the states that Aetna plans are available in, this company is not an option. In terms of location, Aetna is admittedly limited. They would also do well to provide more upfront information to potential customers about prices and deductibles, which are crucial decision-makers in this industry.