Aetna President/CEO to Address Health Care Reform at Farmington Conference

The leader of a nationwide Fortune 100 health insurance company that is headquartered right here in Farmington will address health care reform on Halloween at an annual Tunxis Community College Foundation economic conference.

Mark Bertolini is the chairman and president of Aetna, Inc. plans to discuss "his vision for the future of his industry in a post-Affordable Care Act world" in his presentation, "Reinventing Health Care," according to a press release from Tunxis. 

"He believes that all players in health care have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reorder our system to better fit the needs of consumers," the press release stated. 

Bertolini often meets with "state and federal policymakers to advocate for measures that increase access, lower costs and improve quality of health care," according to the release, and is very involved in the national discussion on the topic. 

As a "spinal cord injury survivor" who is "partially disabled as the result of a severe skiing accident in 2004" and a father who donated a kidney to his son in 2007, Bertolini knows firsthand the importance of strong health care coverage. 

He has been with Aetna since 2003, heading Aetna's Specialty Products, and became president in 2007, CEO in 2010 and chairman in 2011. Previously, he worked as an executive at Cigna and NYLCare Health Plans, as well as CEO and president of SelectCare,Inc.

Bertolini also has philanthropic aspirations, as a board member for Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and FIDELCO and the "first elected straight ally board member of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce."

After getting his business administration and finance degree at Wayne State University, Bertolini went on to get his MBA in finance at Cornell University.

Aetna covers about 44 million people under its health insurance and employee benefits plans. 

For more information, visit www.tunxisfoundation.org, call 860-255-3604; or email tx-foundation@tunxis.edu. The foundation welcomes companies and small businesses to sign up as event sponsors and donations to the foundation are encouraged.

The foundation has been around for more than 40 years, "supporting the students, programs and projects of Tunxis," the release states.