Aetna And Magic Johnson Enterprises ‘Team Up For A Healthy Tomorrow’

Companies announce alliance aimed at improving literacy, wellness, and racial and ethnic equality in health care

Aetna (NYSE: ΑET) and Magic Johnson Enterprises today announced that they have forged a new, multiyear relationship. Working together, the two companies will strive to empower businesses and ethnically diverse communities to make informed choices about their health care options by improving health care literacy, showing them the benefits of wellness, exercise and healthy eating, and other initiatives.

The announcement was made at an event at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem by Ronald A. Williams, Aetna chairman and CEO, and Earvin “Magic” Johnson, chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises.

“We are extremely pleased to announce this alliance,” Williams said. "Having come to know Earvin in recent years, it became evident that our companies have very similar goals. This relationship will combine Aetna’s strengths as an experienced and innovative health care company with Magic Johnson Enterprise’s (MJE) knowledge of diverse communities in key urban areas. It is consistent with our strategy of identifying opportunities in new market segments.

“Both Aetna and MJE are committed to improving community vitality by helping reduce the number of uninsured, particularly among entrepreneurial, urban business owners, and we want to improve racial and ethnic equality in health care.”

“Our hope is that through this alliance we can engage people and businesses at the community level to take charge of their health care,” Johnson said. “If we can improve health care education, show people the benefits of wellness, exercise and healthy eating, and empower the community with knowledge to make informed choices about their health care options, we will have achieved significant results.”

The principal goals of the relationship are to:

* Create a dialogue and action in diverse urban communities to help people understand the health resources, products and services available to them, and encourage them to take a more active role in their health and wellness.
* Give credible voice, via a recognized and respected leader, to major issues in health care such as the need to improve “health literacy.” This will include community events and community-based initiatives to increase people’s comfort with the language of health care, as well as encourage better understanding of treatment needs and better adherence to a physician’s care plan.
* Raise awareness of racial and ethnic inequality in health care within these communities to empower people to ask questions, seek answers and create a demand for high-quality health care that respects their cultural preferences.

“I applaud Aetna and Magic Johnson on making this commitment to address health care issues facing residents and business owners in urban areas,” said U.S. Representative Charles B. Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. “Taking concrete steps to provide affordable health care coverage is key to moving our country forward and reducing the number of the uninsured, many of whom are disproportionately represented in low-income urban communities.”

Information and updates on how Aetna and Magic Johnson Enterprises are working together to address the needs of urban areas as well as pressing health issues can be found at www.communityvitality.com.

Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.4 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, government-sponsored plans and expatriates. www.aetna.com

Magic Johnson Enterprises, formed in 1987, serves as a catalyst for community and economic empowerment by making available high-quality entertainment, products and services that answer the demands of ethnically diverse urban communities. Through investment, partnership and consultation, Magic Johnson Enterprises has a portfolio of companies that strategically work together to reinforce the organization’s focus on serving emerging, multicultural communities. Some of these companies include Urban Coffee Opportunities, Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, SodexhoMAGIC, over 30 Burger King restaurants, a dozen 24 Hour Fitness Magic Sport centers, a T.G.I. Fridays restaurant, and a long-standing partnership with AMC Magic Johnson Theatres. Learn more at www.magicjohnsonenterprises.com