Aetna Life and Casualty Co.’s first-quarter income...

Aetna Life and Casualty Co.’s first-quarter income fell to $71 million from $82 million in the year-ago period. The company said the decline came from rising health-care costs, which cut into group insurance profits. But Vice Chairman William Bailey, noting that operating earnings rose to $182 million from $146 million in the year-ago period, helped by last year’s hike in premium payments, said that this year’s performance should top 1986, when the company posted operating earnings of $714.3 million.