Aetna named Press Ganey’s inaugural Health Plan of the Year

HARTFORD, Conn. – Aetna, a CVS Health company, has been named Press Ganey’s inaugural Health Plan of the Year, earning top honors at the 2026 Human Experience (HX26) Conference in Orlando, Fla.

The new award from Press Ganey recognizes consistent excellence in member experience, quality performance, and collaboration with providers. The designation emphasizes Aetna’s multi-year effort to turn experience insights into measurable improvements in Medicare Star Ratings, employer satisfaction, and provider experience.

Steve Nelson, president of Aetna, accepted the award at the conference, noting that the recognition reflects a culture focused on members and strong partnerships across the health care ecosystem. Nelson credited Aetna colleagues and teams across CVS Health for maintaining an advocacy mindset and a disciplined approach to improvement.

“Receiving this award - especially in its first year - reflects the sustained performance and collaborative culture at the heart of Aetna. We succeed by staying relentlessly focused on our members and their experiences throughout the health care journey and by building strong and trusting relationships with our partners,” Nelson said. “I’m incredibly proud of all our Aetna colleagues and those across CVS Health for their dedication and advocacy mindset. This award would not be possible without them.”

Press Ganey Chairman and CEO Patrick T. Ryan said the award underscores how health plans can influence access to and quality of care well before patients enter a clinical setting. He pointed to Aetna’s use of real-world insight to break down barriers, enhance coordination, and increase accountability with providers as a key differentiator.

“Health plans play a critical role in shaping how people access and experience care, often long before a patient ever enters a clinical setting,” said Patrick T. Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Press Ganey. “Aetna has treated member experience as an operating guide for how the system should work, using real-world insight to remove barriers, improve coordination, and strengthen accountability with providers.”  

A key example mentioned was HX Exchange, a collaborative initiative developed with Press Ganey that links patient experience data from provider systems with member experience metrics, including Medicare CAHPS scores. By aligning insights and coordinating improvement efforts in select markets, the program has achieved early gains across main experience indicators and strengthened a shared accountability model for access, care coordination, and quality.

Press Ganey’s annual Human Experience Conference brings together healthcare leaders to explore strategies for improving performance in patient and consumer experience, employee and physician engagement, as well as clinical quality and safety. The Health Plan of the Year award is part of the conference’s wider Human Experience Awards program, which recognizes organizations that demonstrate ongoing, systemwide excellence.