Aetna hires more nurses to reduce hospital readmissions

CVS Health’s Aetna insurance branch is expanding a program pairing members in its Medicare Advantage plans with nurses to reduce hospital readmissions and improve health. Aetna-employed nurses will serve as navigators for patients who are released from hospitals or transitioning into a nursing home or who have disabilities. Nurses could coordinate in-home care or arrange transportation for patients to attend follow-up appointments. The program will be in 10 hospitals by year-end, including at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission in Kansas City, Kan., Houston Methodist in Texas and WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, N.C. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services implemented a policy change starting in fiscal year 2027 to include Medicare Advantage members in calculations for readmission penalties applied to hospitals. (Reuters Health article, 9/22/25)