Immunology

Aetna (NYSE: AET) was honored today by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) with the 2014 Innovation in Reducing Health Care Disparities Award. Aetna is a three-time recipient of the award that recognizes organizations for their commitment to equality in health care and exceptional support for cultural diversity.

"On behalf of the National Business Group on Health, I am pleased to announce that Aetna has been selected as a winner of the fourth annual Innovation in Reducing Health Care Disparities Award," said Helen Darling, president and CEO of National Business Group on Health. "Their ongoing effort to address disparities for African Americans and Hispanics with diabetes in the Texas region is certainly one to be commended. We applaud their focus to expand and grow efforts to address specific health care inequities."

Aetna's Racial and Ethnic Equality Dashboard report revealed that diabetic African American and Hispanic members in Texas had twice the level of poor control of their diabetes. As a result, these members were potentially twice as likely to suffer the health consequences of uncontrolled diabetes, including amputations, blindness and other debilitating, potentially life-threatening complications.

To address this disparity, Aetna developed a unique provider-focused pilot program for African American and Hispanic members with diabetes in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Together with the Medical Clinic of North Texas (MCNT), Aetna found that using a bilingual nurse diabetic educator coupled with culturally- and linguistically-appropriate member health information was an effective intervention for improving diabetes care in provider practices.