El Camino Hospital Successfully Reaches Agreement With Aetna on Terms of Contract

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- El Camino Hospital and Aetna today announced that they have successfully reached a resolution regarding the terms of their Contracting Hospital Agreement. The two organizations came to an agreement on a fair and equitable reimbursement rate for the care El Camino Hospital provides to patients covered under the Aetna health plan.  As a result of these discussions, Aetna patients will be able to continue to choose El Camino Hospital for their medical care after December 31, 2010, when the contract had been scheduled to expire.  

"The multi-year agreement we have reached with Aetna ensures that patients will continue to have the choice of receiving care at El Camino Hospital and that we will be reimbursed for that care at a fair rate," said Kenneth D. Graham, president and chief executive officer of El Camino Hospital.  "We are pleased to have reached a positive resolution with Aetna, and one that will continue to benefit our physicians and patients by emphasizing high-quality care."

"This agreement reflects the genuine commitment both parties have had in negotiating an agreement that is in the best interest of all concerned. El Camino Hospital is an integral part of Aetna's group of health care providers, and we are very happy that it remains a part of our network," said Brendhan Green, Aetna's vice president of network management for Northern California.

About El Camino Hospital

El Camino Hospital, ranked among the top 5 percent of hospitals nationwide for clinical excellence by HealthGrades for five consecutive years, is an acute care, 542-bed, not-for-profit and locally-governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, Calif. In addition to a state-of-the-art emergency department, key medical specialty focuses include cancer care, heart and vascular, neuroscience, genomic medicine, orthopedic and spine and women's health. El Camino Hospital has delivered the highest level of medical services to the communities of Silicon Valley for more than four decades. The hospital is also recognized as a national leader in the use of health information technology to promote patient safety, including computerized order entry, electronic medical records and wireless communications. El Camino Hospital was the pioneer hospital for computerized physician order entry (CPOE), having started its program in 1971.  Additionally El Camino Hospital is an accredited Mega Heart and Certified Chest Pain Center and a Santa Clara County Certified STEMI Receiving Center, and a Joint Commission certified stroke center.  To learn more about El Camino Hospital, the services it provides in Mountain View and Los Gatos, and its commitment to doing "Whatever it Takes" to provide the best and safest patient care, visit www.elcaminohospital.org.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 35.4 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com. To learn more about Aetna's innovative online tools, visit www.aetnatools.com. 

SOURCE El Camino Hospital