The following excerpts are from a transcript of a CNBC interview with Mark Bertolini. The transcript was posted to Aetna's internal website on September 13, 2012.
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“Bernie Lo, Reporter:
Leading up to the November presidential vote in America, the whole idea of affordable health care—also dubbed as Obamacare, and then, of course Governor Romney had his own version of Romneycare in the state of Massachusetts when he was governor—is figuring very, very high on the agenda. One of the companies which has essentially made a large bet worth about $5.75 billion that some sort of government-mandated health initiative is going to move forward is none other than Aetna, the number three managed care business in America after United Health and WellPoint. Joining us on the show today is chairman, CEO and president Mark Bertolini of Aetna.
Mark, welcome to the show, and thank you so much for the time today.
Mark Bertolini, Chairman, President & CEO, Aetna:
Good to be here.
Lo:
You know, $5.75 billion is a big bet, that the incumbent, President Obama, is going to stay in office, is it not? It sounds like it’s a very risky bet.
Bertolini:
It wasn’t really a bet about—it wasn’t bet about Obamacare. It was really a bet about whether or not we’re going to continue to have an aging population and whether or not Medicaid is going to expand over time. But I think regardless of what happens with the election, we’re going to still need to fix health care in America because it’s driving over 75 percent of the increase in the budget deficit over the next decade.
Lo:
Suppose—and we don’t want to make any suppositions, because all the polls are so close, are neck-and-neck. But if Romney/Ryan get the nod, I mean, Paul Ryan has put a lot of energy into making sure that Medicare as we know it today looks very different during the Romney/Ryan administration that could change some of the math. Did you take all that into consideration?
Bertolini:
Sure. Medicare advantage is going to be the solution, even under the Ryan Plan. So we think that Medicare is a great business to be in. We have a very good view on how to improve the quality and reduce the costs in that population. You just get people managed effectively, you can get them much healthier, and so we view that regardless of whoever wins the presidential election, Medicare is going to be strong for us.”
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“Lo:
Mark, thank you so much for your time.
Bertolini:
Great to see you, Bernie.
Lo:
Best of luck. Good luck with—I know you have a few hurdles, like, with justice to get through with the Coventry acquisition, but hopefully everything gets up…
Bertolini:
Mid-next year.
Lo:
Okay. Well, that’s short term with the U.S. Justices. Mark Bertolini, chairman and CEO and president of Aetna.”
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