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Aetna may seek settlement
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January 17, 2001: 7:25 a.m. ET
HMO reported to mull operating changes to settle fraud and racketeering suit
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Aetna Inc. is reviewing a list of changes in the way it provides managed care as part of settlement talks addressing a fraud and racketeering suit aimed at the health maintenance organization (HMO) industry, the Wall Street Journal said Wednesday.
The settlement talks are under way in New York this week and have reached "an advanced stage," according to one lawyer involved who was quoted by the paper.
The two sides are discussing how much Aetna may pay in damages to plan members, according to the paper.
 The talks come as Aetna's new chief executive, John W. Rowe, is looking to overhaul the company's image and to improve relations with patients and doctors, the Journal said.
Last month, for example, the company announced it would discard its "all products rule," under which doctors were made to participate in Aetna's lower-paying health-maintenance organization network if they wanted to participate in its higher-paying preferred-provider organization (PPO) network, the paper said.
According to the settlement terms under discussion, Aetna (AET: Research, Estimates) would discontinue financial incentives that plaintiffs claim benefit physicians who restrict plan members' access to health care, the paper said.
The Journal said consolidated class-action suits have been brought by lawyers on behalf of health-plan subscribers who allege that insurers have engaged in fraud and racketeering by using undisclosed financial incentives to limit the care patients receive.
Aetna shares rose $1.62 to $38.56 in Tuesday trading. 
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