Aetna May Change Policy in Georgia to Improve Relations with Physicians.

Byline: Andy Miller

Sep. 7--Aetna U.S. Healthcare is expected to announce soon a series of steps designed to improve relations with physicians in Georgia and boost access to care for patients.

The changes likely will resemble those the Hartford-based company has announced recently in other states, including Virginia, Florida and Connecticut.

In those states, Aetna U.S. Healthcare announced more flexibility for doctors to choose the type of health plans they participate in and pledged to give physicians 90 days' notice of major payment changes. Many doctors treating HMO patients also got the option of being paid like traditional insurance, instead of on a per-patient basis.

For consumers, Aetna in those states said that members with …