Aetna and GlaxoSmithKline Cosponsor Depression Seminars for Employers in Six Cities; Seminars Provide Forum for Employers to Share Best Practices for Managing Depression in the Workplace

Business Wire, July 20, 2005

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Aetna Inc. (NYSE:AET) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today jointly announced a series of roundtable seminars for employers to share strategies about managing depression in the workplace. Depression is among the top five health-related issues that have a significant impact on employee productivity. These seminars are designed to give employers a better understanding of how depression affects their businesses.

"As we move to become a full-service behavioral health benefits company, Aetna Behavioral Health is taking this opportunity to meet with employers to educate them about the effects that mental health disorders have on their businesses," said Mary Fox, head of Aetna Behavioral Health. "One way we're doing that is by proactively reaching out to employers about ways to manage the impact of depression and providing them with practical strategies that simultaneously improve their bottom line and the lives of their employees."

Through employer presentations and interactive discussions, the seminars will seek to increase employers' awareness of the costs and prevalence of depression in the workplace. The seminars also will offer information that highlights various approaches to improve employee health and productivity. Employers can attend informational sessions that focus on workplace strategies as well as educational resources and self-assessment tools designed to help employees learn about mental health issues.

According to a study published in the Journal of American Psychology, depression costs the American economy $43.7 billion annually in absenteeism, which is the equivalent of 200 million lost work days. "Reducing some of the stigma surrounding mental health disorders is one way we can help to mitigate some of these costs for employers," Fox said.

The first "Depression in the Workplace" seminar will take place July 21 in Philadelphia and will feature a presentation by David Hom of Pitney Bowes about his company's experience in finding strategies to manage the cost of behavioral health disorders in the workplace. Seminars in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Dallas will take place in September. GSK is providing the funding for the seminars.

As one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its approximately 14.4 million medical members, 12.8 million dental members, 9.0 million pharmacy members and 14.0 million group insurance members to help them make better informed decisions about their health care and protect their finances against health-related risks. Aetna provides easy access to cost-effective health care through a nationwide network of more than 672,000 health care professionals, including approximately 400,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 4,084 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.Aetna.com. (Figures as of March 31, 2005)