Aetna Expands International Biz (AET) (CI) (HUM) (WLP)

Per the agreement, Aetna will offer health care benefits and services to residents of Saudi Arabia.

Along with providing health care benefits and services, the people of Saudi Arabia will benefit from global services of Aetna. Aetna’s worldwide network of more than 100,000 hospitals will provide the members with seamless service anywhere across the globe.

The expatriates living in Saudi Arabia as well as the Saudi citizen staying abroad will also be eligible for the service.

Approximately 80,000, Saudi Arabian students currently studying in United States, will be provided insurance cover by Aetna. On their return back home their insurance provision can continue and they will be covered by Tawuniya.

Aetna expatriate members in the kingdom, will be serviced by Tawuniya. They will have access to the latter’s company network of more than 1,100 hospitals and medical centers.

For easy access the customers have also been provided support via technology. Online website portal, mobile and tablet apps will guide members to search and locate services. All the necessary medical as well as other ancillary information will also be available online.

Tawuniya is also benefitted by reinsurance facility from Aetna along with consultation on developing new products.

This deal comes as a strategic step at a time when Aetna is aggressively diversifying its businesses internationally, which offers long-term growth profile. The company has also made a number of small as well as big acquisitions and is poised for growth in the face of the fast changing health insurance marketplace.

Other health insurance players CIGNA Corp. (CI), and Humana Inc. (HUM), WellPoint Inc. (WLP) with Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) are worth considering.