By Healthcare Facilities Today

CARROLLTON, Ky.—Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Carroll County Memorial Hospital announced today that they have reached agreement on a new contract that adds the hospital and its affiliated physician group to Aetna’s Kentucky network.

Under the agreement, which took effect July 15, members of Aetna’s plans can receive covered hospital-based services, at in-network rates, from Carroll County Memorial Hospital and from any of the hospital’s employed physicians.

“Aetna is very pleased to welcome Carroll County Memorial Hospital to our Kentucky network,” said Michelle Mathieu, Aetna’s vice president of network operations for Ohio and Kentucky. “This is great news for our members. We’ve been working to provide broader access to high-quality hospitals and physicians, and this agreement helps us achieve that goal.”

Aetna’s Kentucky members have access to a contracted network of 81 hospitals and more than 8,600 primary care and specialist physicians.

“We are really excited,” said Michael Kozar, CEO of Carroll County Memorial Hospital. “This is a step in our vision of growing our organization, and being able to expand our services to be a comprehensive provider of health care in the area.”

About Carroll County Memorial Hospital

Carroll County Memorial Hospital is a fully accredited 25-bed critical-access hospital that covers a three-county service area of 28,000 residents and has been a part of the community since 1955. Carroll County Memorial Hospital is dedicated to providing excellent service to our patients in the most efficient manner. For more information on the services provided by Carroll County Memorial Hospital, visit www.ccmhosp.com.

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 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.