Aetna Incorporated. a wellness attention program company. is one of the American taking companies in diversified benefits of a scope of traditional and consumer directed wellness attention insurance services. It includes huge service offerings in wellness attention insurance from mental and behavioural wellness to long-run attention benefits and other health-related attention and concerns. ( Aetna. 2007a ; Wikipedia. 2007 ) Furthermore. it is the nation’s innovator in full-service wellness insurance company that proffers a consumer-oriented wellness program.
Aetna provides its members with the chance to make out on suited tools and comprehendible information for them to execute based determinations sing wellness and fiscal involvement ( Aetna. 2007a ) . For over 150 old ages. Aetna has been committed to back uping people in achieving wellness and fiscal security. The company establishes information and necessary resources to work for its members and clients for them to put to death “better-informed determinations about their wellness attention.
Presently. Aetna rank Numberss up to 15. 7 million ( M ) medical members. around 13. 7 M dental members and around 10. 5 pharmaceutics members ( Aetna. 2007a ) . In footings of wellness attention webs. it holds on more than 783. 000 wellness attention professionals. 458. 000 major attention physicians and specializers. 4. 681 infirmaries and a web called AexcelSM. of specialist doctors.
Aetna is besides the supplier of benefits through national employers of little. mid-sized and big multi-state graduated tables in all 50 provinces. every bit good as persons and Medicare receivers in certain markets. Aetna: Code of Conduct The company’s Code of Conduct contains a alone and consistent set of values and criterions of unity and concern patterns. It mediates in steering the company in following with the Torahs. ordinances and ethical criterions that controls Aetna’s concern maps ( Aetna. 2006 ) .
Harmonizing to the foreword message of Aetna’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ) and President Dr. Ronald A. Williams. every company’s employee. officer. and manager is expected to follow the Code of Conduct because: a ) it is the outlooks of the clients from the company ; B ) they have a vow to populate b their values. and ; degree Celsiuss ) they would be working with the extreme rules of just and ethical concern guidelines given that they follow the contained guidelines in all their concern facets.
However. the Code can non cover all state of affairss and Dr. Williams encourages the aid or counsel of The Aetna Way and their Ethical Decision-Making Framework ( to be discussed subsequently in this paper ) to carry on sound determinations and take the right actions in executing Aetna concern patterns. Ethical System The Code of Conduct contains ten ( 10 ) specific countries of subjects in which the company discusses some policies on specific affairs.
The first one or Statement 1 trades with Conflicts of Interest that in general respects with the company’s demand that its employees. officers and managers to maintain away form existent or obvious struggles of involvement to protect Aetna’s repute. There should be turning away in ownership involvements or engagement in excluded activities that would make a struggle of involvement or intervention in acting of a occupation.
This requires describing to the director and conformity officer for reappraisal and countenance of associations on manus or ownership concerns that involves him or her or a household member or even a close friend residing in a place such as any places with any “business. non-profit-making organisation or authorities entity that is an Aetna rival. client. supplier or supplier” or for other cause or motivations that may bring on struggle of involvement. and ; acquiring clasp of a considerable sum of partnership in ownership of involvement in any concern or even partnership.
However. the finding of struggles of involvement might sometimes be bleary and hence. counsel of a conformity officer might come necessary. There are besides guidelines in the associations and involvement of the Director and are non far-related to what hold been discussed antecedently. and the reappraisal by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee must besides re regarded relevant. There are besides guidelines and regulations in accepting or giving gifts ; travel. amusement and honorarium ; price reductions and discriminatory intervention ; and loans and warrants of duties.
Statement 2 trades with record-keeping and usage of the company’s belongings and resources which should be wholly legal and proper. This is so since Aetna and any other companies for that affair. is compulsory to subject relevant paperss. studies and public communicating to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators that besides includes revelation in a mode that is whole. impartial. accurate. seasonably and comprehendible. All of the company’s resources and belongings such s electronic mail. cyberspace and other computer science and communications systems should merely be used for the company’s intent.
Bribes and other illegal payments are besides strongly discouraged by the company. Statement 3 embarks on fraud. dishonesty and condemnable behavior since these seemingly affect Aetna’s repute and continued success. Hence. all concern maps must be performed with honestness and with conformity with applicable Torahs. ordinances and moralss regulations. Statement 4 is with respects with protecting member and other confidential information of members. employees and the company itself from any inappropriate entree. usage or revelation.
This is besides in integrating and conformity with federal and province privateness and security Torahs that is applicable to the company. Private company information refers to member information. the company’s professional involvements. and other relevant information about its clients. subsidiaries and even providers that might be used against the company or for the benefit of its rival. This is applicable in the class of being under Aetna or after the association with the company.
Statement 5 trades with the company’s concern and trade patterns which should be complied with honestness and unity since Aetna has its ain Torahs and ordinances that apply to the company’s concern which are under federal jurisprudence. The company’s Record and Management Policy is besides strongly encouraged to be followed. Statement 6 encourages the company’s subordinates to back up Aetna to be a responsible and trusty authorities contractor since the company treasures winning and maintaining authorities contracts.
This can be achieved by following federal. province and local Torahs that respects with authorities catching and procurance. Employment Torahs must be besides purely complied with. The Code is besides concerned with proper employment patterns and public assistance every bit good as the rightness of its workplace ( Statement 7 ) . The company complies with policies and plans that guarantee the inclusiveness and safety or the workplace for its employees and concern spouses. advance equity and regard for all. and advance a working environment where diverseness and inclusion are appreciated.
Federal Torahs that discourage favoritism. torment. particular personal relationships. force and frailties are strongly administered by the company. Such Torahs that are complied with in the company are the Equal Employment Opportunity and the Affirmative Action. which takes away the basing of concern determinations on individual’s characters ( such as sex. race. colour. nationality. age and others ; and the company’s really ain Alcohol and Drug Policy that prohibits distribution. ownership. usage. purchase or sell of alcoholic drinks and illegal or prescription substances and drugs.
Statement 8 trades with Aetna’s securities minutess which prohibits trade securities if an person has no material nonpublic information about peculiar securities. Under this codification. all are expected to follow to all insider trading and securities federal Torahs and the company’s ain relevant ordinances. Besides included covering and transacting with securities affairs and direction and secretiveness of private information. The company and a subsidiary could confront civil and condemnable effect for insider trading since insider trading is unethical and improper.
The statement besides discusses on “material information” relevant in decision-making that concerns any minutess on the company’s securities. Statement 9 trades with the company’s interaction whether private or public to any external establishment such as media organisations and even with the federal authorities. Anyone in close relation to the company and even its subsidiaries should non talk in behalf of Aetna merely there was consent or mandate from the Board of Directors to take such action. Personal positions should besides be kept separate from the company’s position.
He financess of the company should non be besides utilised to prosecute on a lobbyist or to do a political contribution except authorized by the Government dealingss. These are for the protection of Aetna’s repute and an person every bit good. under conformity of Torahs. Finally. Statement 10 trades with Aetna’s rational belongings. Apparently valuable. such belongings must be protected from improper usage or revelation whether owned by the company or licensed from others. Intellectual belongingss of the company must be controlled the legal and proper manner.
Use of such belongings must be under blessing of an internal legal advocate and in conformity with the Aetna Intellectual Property Guide. Policies on Aetna’s rational belongingss are besides extended to the web sites. pictures. music and publications. Aetna’s ethical system as contained in its ain Code of Conduct presents a huge scope of policies that protects the repute. unity. security and public assistance of both the company itself and its subsidiaries and members. As discussed above there are specific policies or codification of moralss from recordkeeping. employee’s equal chance and to intellectual belongings rights.
Harmonizing to the company. all policies are established in conformity with federal Torahs. The company’s policies sing struggles of involvement and confidentiality have general footing as concluded by the survey in a place paper from the Society for Health and Human Values and Society for Bioethics Consultation Task Force on Standards for Bioethics Consultation ( Aulisio. 2000 ) . One of their decisions is that. maltreatment of power and struggles of involvement must be avoided in wellness attention companies. This is so since moralss advisers have the authorization and power to act upon clinical attention and such power can be exploited.
Since struggles of involvement can be partial to consultants’ recommendations. of import personal or professional linkages with one or more parties should be disclosed and be get rid of. In add-on. the personal concerns of the advisers may be affected by giving advice that could move against the company’s fiscal or public dealingss concerns. Policies that concern on recordkeeping and usage of the company’s belongings and resources. and insider trading are all in conformity to federal Torahs specifically in the Securites Exchange Act of 1933 and 1934 ( USSEC. 2007 ) .
The two basic aims of the former it that to mandate investors or companies receive fiscal and other relevant information sing securities being offered for public sale and forbid “deceit. deceits. and other fraud” in the sale of securities. The latter provinces that insider trading is illegal when an single trades a security while in ownership of nonpublic stuff information in noncompliance of an duty to keep back the said information or renunciation from trading.
On the other manus. policies sing the company’s employment patterns are besides observed in conformity with federal employment Torahs. Federal Equal Employment Opportunity ( EEO ) Laws prohibit occupation favoritism which covers about all private employers. province and local authoritiess. educational establishments and even the federal authorities ( USEEOC. 2005 ) . The said jurisprudence is enforced by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and besides complies with the American College of Healthcare Executives or ACHE ( ACHE. 2003 ) . Overall. Aetna covers the indispensable and core ethic issues in conformity to federal Torahs.
