Aetna Names Head of Doctor-Relations Unit

Aetna Inc., the biggest U.S. health insurer, said it has named one of its division presidents, John Kelly, to be director of its new office of physician relations, which was created to help bolster Aetna’s ties with doctors. Kelly, 51, was president of U.S. quality algorithms at Aetna’s managed health-care unit, Aetna U.S. Healthcare. He is also a former official of the American Medical Assn., the largest U.S. doctors’ group. The creation of the unit comes after the AMA, among others, objected to Aetna’s $1-billion purchase of Prudential Insurance Co.’s health-insurance unit in August, saying it would hurt competition in managed health care. Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna also has faced some objections to its bargaining tactics and fee levels. Members of Aetna’s new division plan to meet with doctors’ groups, university medical centers and other groups to discuss areas of concern, Kelly said.