Aetna Reviews 

My employer switched to Aetna. After 23 years of going to the same hospital systems /doctors, the largest/best in my metro area, Aetna has now dropped them from their network. In looking at the other choices Aetna offers - unless I'm willing to travel hours - I will have to go to substandard hospitals and use their doctors who get 1/2 stars out of five. Reading their reviews is horrifying. I'm considering leaving my employer for an employer with a better insurance company.

Atena pharmacy plan is a huge ripoff, last year I had them for my part D and tried to cancel because of the monthly cost 60.00 x 12 $720.00. My meds cost $286.00 for Tier 1 meds in 2025. The cost for 2026 is 96.00 monthly which is 1,428.00 for my Tier 1 drugs. They are horibble. Please search for better coverage elsewhere.

It's November and we have just now met our high deductible for the year. Now Aetna is revising claims that have already been paid by us and is saying we owe more on them. You can't call them, but I chatted with them online to get to the bottom of it. No explanation - just that it is correct and we owe more. 10 months later !

I have never been more frustrated or frightened by an insurance company in my life. I am a Type 1 diabetic whose survival depends on timely access to insulin and related medical supplies. My request to get these medically-necessary supplies covered began on July 28th, and as of today it is still unresolved.

During this time, Aetna has:

Sent me in circles between multiple departments, none of which take ownership

Provided incorrect DME supplier lists

Sent documents that are irrelevant, instead of the authorization needed for coverage

Told me to pass meaningless forms to my doctor, instead of handling the process internally

Failed to give a clear answer on whether my supplies are covered or how to obtain them

I am now dangerously close to running out of insulin supplies. If this continues, I will be hospitalized within the next two weeks, and it will not be from negligence on my part — it will be because Aetna has made it almost impossible to obtain life-saving medication that I am fully entitled to under my plan.

Even if I can finally get the supplies covered, the costs are still outrageous. I am staring down hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket due to the deductible plus an 80% co-payment, on medication that is not optional for me — it is required to stay alive.

I have spent hours on the phone, been transferred repeatedly, and have received no real answers or solutions. At this point it feels less like disorganization and more like barriers designed to delay or prevent coverage.

This is not a minor inconvenience. It is a risk to my life.

Aetna needs to fix:

Their approval and DME referral system

Their internal communication — stop passing members around

Their complete lack of urgency when life-saving prescriptions are involved

Their unacceptable cost-sharing structure that makes insulin financially devastating

I am terrified and exhausted. No one who relies on insulin should ever be put in this situation.

Customer service is annoying and frustrating. Reps are rude, and they will transfer you to different departments once you ask for a supervisor or manager. They will also not end the call and put you on dead air like they are not willing to help

Two days before my wife's surgery, Aetna denies surgery stating that it fails to meet five criteria for medical necessity. Her quality of life is severely affected. Constantly in pain, unable to lift anything, unable to write, unable to work, fully care for herself, etc. Aetna is PURE EVIL!

Awful greedy corporation. I am fully qualified for a surgery, have all the documentation and doctors’ notes, but they denied me because they said it’s not medically necessary based on the size of the body part weight (don’t want to put exact details for privacy, something like the weight of the heart or lung). Nowhere did any of my insurance or any other policies say ANYTHING about how that body part weight is relevant. My doctor and her office are all extremely confused how that happened and how they can resolve. And the insurance will not explain it any further, like how does the body part weight matter or how it’s relevant in any way. They are literally denying patients the care they need solely for profit. I am sick and tired of medical care being for-profit in this country. Disgusting and manipulative!

Aetna senior suppliment was great until they got really greedy and raised the rates higher. I changed companies and have been fighting to get my refund amount. They promise and promise. Buyer beware thats all I can say. My next stop is to send a letter to medicare.

Aetna looked so good UNTIL, I enrolled and actually attempted to find a dr and go ONCE, a year, & get routine blood work. List of drs looks long BUT list is very deceptive. Most have QUIT accepting Aetna because they're notoriously rotten. Despite, calling Aetna 4 times BEFORE 1st app, to get "Prior Authorization" & make certain dr was in network, they still refuse to pay. I'm getting letters and phone calls from credit agencies , hospital labs and dr office. Call Aetna & they blame 100% of the issues on the customer. You didn't do this or that. All LIES. I now have a serious issue. A tumor in my jaw that may be the big C BUT Aetna won't even pay for an x-ray let alone a biopsy. They don't care if you suffer & die as long as they can squeeze their nickles. I could go on. Writing this review in attempt to save others from this agony. They're downright cruel, deceptive & evil. RUN.

I rarely leave reviews, but my experience with Aetna has been so disappointing that I feel compelled to warn others.
Trying to find a provider through Aetna’s website is a nightmare. More than half of the listings I checked had one or more of the following issues:
• Wrong phone number
• Wrong address
• Wrong provider name
• Providers who don’t even accept Aetna, despite being listed
After wasting half a day calling around, I reached out to Aetna for help. Their solution? “We’ll email you a list.” That email takes 24 hours to arrive — in 2025. Is it traveling to Pluto?
This kind of delay and misinformation is unacceptable in a country where healthcare is already difficult to access. Aetna’s provider directory is unreliable, and their customer service is slow and unhelpful. If you're considering this plan, think twice.

I used Aetna Dental Plans for several years to obtain a discount on dental services. I resubscribed for two years in July, and my dentist cancelled their participation in the plan shortly afterward. The plan won't refund any part of my two-year payment, and only offered to refer me to another dentist which is not of interest to me. So, I am out the $380. cost of the subscription. People using this plan take a significant risk in losing the expected value of the plan.

Trying to enroll in a part D plan IS AN EXERCISE IN FRUSTRATION. Robot voice mail is useless. They keep saying 'it is easy to talk with us' and then never come on the phone.
In addition, their phone service keeps hicupping and cutting out.

I won my dispute with Medicare over fraud in selling me the Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan. My advice is to not give up. I was lied to my their agent about what was covered and paid thousands of dollars that I wouldn't have been responsible for if the agent had been honest. They are as bad as United. Do not consider them as a provider.

AETNA IS AN EXECUTION PANEL WITH A CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER

Aetna isn’t a health insurance company — it’s a slow-motion execution service.

I asked for a refill of a very common, non-controlled heart/diabetes medication two days early. Two. Days. Their response? “Why do you need it early?”

My answers (since the question was absurd):
• Maybe my cat ate them.
• Maybe I doubled up because I’m a senior.
• Maybe they fell in the toilet.

None were accepted. Instead, Aetna wanted me to bother my cardiologist at USF to rewrite the exact same prescription… for two days later. Brilliant use of a specialist’s time!

I spent nearly an hour on the phone while their Board of Directors presumably debated whether I was worth 48 hours of pills. Spoiler: they voted no.

This is the same company that:
• Denied an MRI ordered by three specialists (I paid out of pocket, they later had to refund me when the MRI found issues).
• Denied a heart CT scan three times ordered by two USF cardiologists (one a professor) and an electrophysiologist.

Let’s be clear: Aetna’s business model isn’t healthcare — it’s cost denial until you give up or die. If you want to live a long life, pick literally any other insurer. With Aetna, every refill, every test you need feels like negotiating with the Grim Reaper’s secretary.

Aetna has no flexibility or heart - They DECIEVE me with their bait and switch benefits. Hearing benefit of $4,000 per year looks generous - but it is a sham. They only cover lower tier devices - and at a minimum i must pay 500 for what they say is $4,500 - but I can bought online 3 months old for $450. BIG NO_NO is they send you to a hearing store on their list who colludes to make you think you are buying from him. Acrually he is just paid to service the account and Aetna sends him the inventory. The upgrade to a top of the line set for me was over $6,000 to get what I wanted. Many take them up on the offer. Turns out that same Phonak Audeo I90 can be had online new from lowest of 1,800 to common 2,800 a pair. They deliberately mislead you and trick you into turning a benefit for me into a profit center score for them. Their Nations Hearing and Nations Benefits truly suck.

International should not be a word associated with Aetna, the processes are designed for the American market. I am based in Switzerland and it is a nightmare to deal with them. Claims are being returned time and time again looking for codes (American), abbreviations, that are clearly internal, so each time I need to call to understand what they are missing. Latest example after 3 times back and forth on a simple claim, I have a new AI generated request which simply says 'outreach for POP'.....honestly!!! It is my second time being insured by Aetna, I didn't think it was possible but I think they are even worse now. Customer service agents, while friendly, are not properly trained and so can rarely help with your claim.

Run, don't walk, away from any Aetna Advantage plan a "salesperson" tries to sell you. When you don't need them they seem okay, because they aren't spending money, accept on the worthless extra junk they dangle in front of you. You'd be much better off with insurance that actually works when you really need it. Dealing with Aetna and their Indian call center is a lesson in frustration and futility...like banging your head against a brick wall. Aetna will deny, deny, deny anything. That's what they do. Their approvals for rehab or other necessary things are 1/3 or less of the time approved by other Advantage plans and the constant fighting, calling, translating what they say and reauthorizing takes up as much time as a part time job. If you can't afford a Gap plan, at least go with another provider for your advantage plan. Aetna is basically just lip service, no real help. Just take your premiums for years, send you some free toothbrushes and deny your actual claims. Save yourself the total frustration down the road and Avoid Aetna Advantage at all cost.

Aetna is the worst insurance company I have ever dealt with for health insurance. I have had multiple conversations with Aetna regarding a health insurance policy all leaving me feeling frustrated and no real explanation of why they can't find my information until I speak with at least 2 different customer service representatives. A policy was to be converted to cover my husband only and I was required to make a payment to get it started. The problem was when I logged into our policy it said no payment due. I had received a notice saying our old policy was canceled and a new one was issued. No problem. I understood the new policy took affect automatically and he had insurance. Except after multiple go-arounds with both Aetna and Marketplace, Aetna said I owed a premium. I would have paid it if I have received a paper bill, an email bill, an email stating I needed to pay or any other form of communication which indicated I needed to take action. After 5 separate phone calls between both places where Aetna could not locate any information on the new policy I was finally given information to make a payment. I am still having difficulty understanding their policy regarding payments. I cannot wait until the end of the year to switch companies. Aetna has been by far the most frustrating company to have insurance with in my opinion. I would not recommend them for health insurance.

I really thought Aetna was going to be a good choice for my Medicare advantage insurance for this year... BOY WAS I WRONG!
These goons deny almost every other claim for one reason or another and if I don't get involved to try to solve the problem and then call them to explain how the claim should be processed the claim would remain unpaid. It's not my job to get involved but because they obviously don't care my claims would sit in the unpaid pile and I would get billed by my provider. So I kinda have to get involved or I'll be liable which I can't afford and that's why I have insurance but with Aetna it's like not having insurance...
CAN'T WAIT UNTIL OPEN ENROLLMENT.

Representatives are not knowledgeable at all, they cannot put a supervisor to solve any issues, no way to solve any problems, when I got a supervisor on the phone He still was not able to solve problems. Processing claims under other members of the plan, etc