Aetna And Reed To Provide Absence Control Program

NU Online News Service, June 24, 3:15 p.m. – To help employers cut down on costly employee absences, Aetna Group Insurance, a division of Aetna Inc., Hartford, Conn., today announced that is has contracted with Reed Group, Ltd. to provide employee absence programs to employers.

Aetna, citing a study last year by Harris Interactive, a research firm in Rochester, N.Y., notes that unscheduled absences cost $600 per employee each year. Forty percent of absences were for personal illness, 21% for family matters and 20% for personal business, the study reported.

Reed Group publishes the Medical Disability Advisor, which publishes disability duration guidelines that its says are used by more than 10,000 multinational corporations, insurance carriers, rehabilitation firms, third-party administrators, occupational health professionals and physicians. Reed also provides disability and absence management services to employers. Its MDA Absence Manager monitors and measures both the administrative and clinical components of employee absence.