Medical Center to accept Aetna insurance policies

Decision involves 273-member Physician Organization.

By: David Campbell
   Nearly 300 physicians at The Medical Center at Princeton will begin accepting Aetna insurance as of Sunday, the hospital said last week.
   The Medical Center’s Physician Organization, which represents about 273 doctors, is accepting Aetna as part of the hospital’s ongoing commitment to community service, according to a statement issued by the hospital.
   Hospital President and CEO Barry Rabner said in a statement the move will make a difference in the lives of patients in the communities served by the hospital.
   "We are proud that the Physician Organization shares The Medical Center’s commitment to the community and very pleased that it has chosen to begin accepting Aetna insurance," Mr. Rabner said. "These patients will now be able to access the care they want close to home."
   Members of the Medical Center’s Community Advisory Committee had expressed concern about the absence of Aetna among the Physician Organization’s list of accepted plans, indicating they wanted to come to the hospital for care but couldn’t because their doctors did not accept their insurance.
   The physicians now will accept Aetna in addition to AmeriHealth, Beech Street, Cigna, Devon, One Health Plan and United Healthcare, the statement said.
   Aetna, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, currently serves 446,000 residents in its southern New Jersey region, which includes Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties, the hospital said.
   Also last week, Aetna settled a longstanding lawsuit over managed-care billing and medical decisions that had been filed against it and other insurers by a group of 700,000 physicians. Hospital spokeswoman Carol Norris said the Physician Organization’s acceptance of Aetna insurance and the company’s settlement with the doctors’ group were unrelated.