Aetna Press Release:

Aetna Voices of Health Campaign Begins Online Voting

-- Public will choose among 33 groups focused on closing racial and ethnic health care inequality gaps; winning group will receive $30,000 --

Category:

Member and Consumer Health

Wednesday, August 28, 2013 9:00 am EDT

Dateline:

HARTFORD, Conn.

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Public Company Information:

NYSE:

AET

"The Voices of Health campaign not only promotes their outstanding work on a national stage, but also gives these groups the opportunity for a prize that can help enhance the impact they are already having in their local communities."

HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that online voting is under way in the 2013 “Aetna Voices of Health” national campaign at www.aetnavoicesofhealth.com. The voting goes through October 13th for the 33 nominated organizations that are working to improve people’s health and well-being in their communities. Aetna will award $30,000 to the group that gets the most online votes and $20,000 to the second-place finisher.

Aetna created the campaign in 2011 to honor groups that share its goals of closing racial and ethnic health care inequality gaps and helping people live healthier lives. The groups promote wellness locally by fighting conditions like asthma, diabetes and childhood obesity, which hit people of color at higher rates. More than 1.3 million votes have been cast for participating organizations through the first two years of the program.

“We are proud to support this diverse group of organizations who are helping to improve the health of underserved people throughout the country,” said Floyd W. Green, III, vice president and head of Community Relations and Urban Marketing for Aetna. “The Voices of Health campaign not only promotes their outstanding work on a national stage, but also gives these groups the opportunity for a prize that can help enhance the impact they are already having in their local communities.”

Aetna created “Voices of Health” as part of its support of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project. Aetna donated $1.275 million to support the project, with a portion of its gift used to help plant 180 new cherry trees at the memorial site in Washington, D.C.

Campaigning for Votes

The “Aetna Voices of Health” website will feature a one-minute video from each organization describing how the prize money would help them achieve their mission. Groups will be reaching out for votes in a number of different ways, including sharing their videos through social media. The Miami Beach Chamber Education Foundation, which was the 2012 “Aetna Voices of Health” grand prize winner, received 205,629 votes last year.

Aetna will also promote the “Voices of Health” campaign through a variety of communications channels, including the “what’s your healthy?” website – www.whatsyourhealthy.com. The interactive website is part of Aetna’s national, integrated marketing and advertising campaign, where consumers can share their personal “healthy.”

The 2013 “Aetna Voices of Health” nominees are:

East – Jewish Renaissance Medical Center (Perth Amboy, N.J.); Boys & Girls Clubs of Paterson & Passaic (Paterson, N.J.); Philadelphia Marathon (Philadelphia, Pa.); Enon Coulter Community Development Corporation (Philadelphia, Pa.); Chip In For A Cure (Bloomfield, Conn.); Catholic Charities (Hartford, Conn.); Partners Achieving Success, C.D.C., Inc. (Capitol Heights, Md); and Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care (Washington, D.C.).

Mid-America – The Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (East Houston, Texas); CHILDREN AT RISK (Houston); Dayspring Family Church Summer Feeding Program (Irving, Texas); San Antonio Sports (San Antonio, Texas); Cowtown Marathon – C.A.L.F. (Fort Worth, Texas); Anita M. Martinez Ballet Folklorico (Dallas); Association House of Chicago (Chicago); After School Matters (Chicago); Healthy New Albany (New Albany, Ohio); and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri).

Southeast – Strong Women, Strong Girls South Florida (Doral, Fla.); Covenant House Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); The Children’s Home, Inc. (Tampa, Fla.); Project Autism of St. Johns, Inc. (St. Augustine, Fla.); HEALing Community Center (Atlanta); Hosea Feed The Hungry and Homeless (Atlanta); and Hispanic Health Coalition of Georgia, Inc. (Roswell, Ga.).

West – Junior Blind of America (Los Angeles); La Plaza de Cultura y Artes (Los Angeles); Angel Babies of Hinds Hospice (Fresno, Calif.); Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc. (Phoenix); Cesar Chavez Foundation (Phoenix); Arizona Foundation for Women (Phoenix); Boys & Girls Clubs of King County (Seattle); and Lifelong AIDS Alliance (Seattle).

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 44 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna's customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.