The watchdogs have completed an assessment of a health plan by Aetna Inc., which will witness a boost in the health insurance premiums of over 1 million California residents.

It has been informed by the state regulators on Thursday that one more insurance company in California has rejected its plans for double-digit rate hikes of the individual policyholders, due to the errors in its filing, which could have resulted in inflated premiums.

One more health insurer, Aetna Inc. has pulled out from an intended rate increase after an independent analysis found faults in the complex computations that the corporation made use of to explain for augmenting 65,000 policyholders' rates by an average of 19%.

The third biggest U. S. health insurance company Aetna Inc. today announced that, the profits rose to 29 per cent as the company lowered its cost and raised its premiums. In the first quarter, the net income rose up to $562.6 million, which is almost $1.28 per share. The revenue almost rose up to less than a percent to $8.62 billion.

Announcement from federal regulators came on Friday, ordering Aetna to stop its marketing processes and also to stop enrolling new Medicare receivers until the health insurer is able to fix problems that have made it troublesome for senior citizens to get their prescriptions filled.

Aetna Inc. posted a remarkably low quarterly profit, on Friday. Its fourth-quarter net income fell to $165.9 million, or 38 cents per share, from $194.7 million, or 42 cents per share, the previous year.

Aetna had previously warned the investors that 2010 would be a repositioning year.

Health Insurer, Aetna Inc is expecting in forth quarter of 2009 to shell out about $60 to $65 million as the cost associated with job cuts and restructuring. Earlier, 1,000 positions were axed in December 2008.

Aetna, America's leading health insurer, has beat all estimates by posting an 18% surge in its net earnings, and much better than expected returns on all its investments, making the insurance firm one of the few companies to have posted positive earnings in the current times of economic downturn.

Aetna Inc., health insurance major, is considering the sale of its pharmacy benefits management unit.

Sources close to the development informed that Medco Health Solutions Inc. and CVS Caremark Corp. are the forerunners in the race of potential buyers.

Prescription-drug programs are handled by pharmacy-benefit managers for pharmacies.

The U.S. Department of Defense said it has awarded military health care contracts worth billions of dollars to Aetna Inc. (AET), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) and TriWest Healthcare Alliance.