Aetna is the No. 7 health insurance company for 2026 with a score of 4.07 stars out of 5.
Scott Nyerges is an insurance expert and managing editor, insurance. Previously, he was a senior insurance editor and content strategist at U.S. News & World Report, and worked for Consumer Reports, MSN and Cheapism.com.
Laura Longero is an insurance expert and executive editor of CarInsurance.com. With 15 years of experience simplifying complex financial topics, Laura provides clear, expert-backed guidance to help drivers make smart, confident decisions. Before joining CarInsurance.com, she was an award-winning editor for the USA Today Network.
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Aetna is No. 7 in our rating, earning an overall score of 4.07 out of 5 stars in our analysis of the Best Health Insurance Companies of 2026. It’s a good option for customers who value access to extended-hour routine care (through CVS MinuteCare clinics) and easy-to-use digital tools that simplify managing their health coverage.
Below is our full review of Aetna (CVS Health), based on third-party metrics (NCQA, NAIC, survey data) and our in-depth survey of health insurance customers.
Below is our review of Aetna (CVS Health). It’s based on third-party metrics and an in-depth survey of insurance customers. Find the full methodology here.
Aetna is a good choice for you if:
It might not be the best choice if:
Aetna’s score of 3.73 out of 5 stars places it in the lower half of the insurers we ranked for this report. However, it scored higher than two of the other largest carriers, UnitedHealthcare and Elevance Health. Humana earned the top score in this category.
According to survey participants, Aetna has room for improvement regarding its customer service. Its score of 71% in this crucial category was lower than all but two insurers, BCBS of North Carolina and Molina Healthcare. Aetna earned a slightly higher score from policyholders for its digital experience, but it was still in the lower half of companies in our survey.
Those surveyed also say Aetna falls short in terms of satisfaction with the insurer’s policy offerings. Only three carriers scored lower than Aetna’s 73%.
Customer satisfaction can be measured by the percentage of policyholders who say they are willing to recommend their insurer to others. Aetna scored 83% in this category. Only two carriers, UnitedHealthcare and Molina Healthcare, scored lower. Aetna also earned a low score (83%) for trustworthiness; only UnitedHealthcare scored lower in this category.
This general dissatisfaction is also reflected in the percentage of people who say they’re willing to renew their policy with Aetna (92%). Among companies in our ranking, BCBS of North Carolina, UnitedHealthcare and Molina Healthcare earned lower scores in this category.
Low deductibles can help keep healthcare affordable. No insurer scored exceptionally well in this category; however, Aetna’s score of 64% was the sixth-lowest among the competition in this year’s survey.
Survey participants gave Aetna a higher score for its provider network (78%), but here, too, the insurer remained in the lower half of insurers ranked.
Aetna earned its highest score (83%) for ease of making payments, finishing in the top half of insurers and ahead of other national carriers like UnitedHealthcare and Elevance Health, but behind top-ranked Humana.
Aetna provides a variety of health insurance plans. Plan details and availability vary by state, but include the following:
Other Aetna services include:
Policyholders can reach Aetna by email or chat by logging into their online account. The insurer can also be reached by phone.
Methodology
In 2025, Insure.com surveyed more than 2,000 insurance consumers through independent research firm Dynata. Customers named their life insurer and rated it on customer satisfaction, ease of service, policy offerings, billing, and their experience across different applicant types (seniors, middle-aged adults, young adults, people with pre-existing conditions, people who are overweight, and people who prefer no-exam coverage). We also asked whether they planned to keep their policy, would recommend their insurer, and trusted their insurer.
For insurers with enough survey responses, we added:
With guidance from Prof. David Marlett, Ph.D., Managing Director of the Brantley Risk and Insurance Center at Appalachian State University, we applied the following weights to determine each company’s final score:
Each insurer received a rating between 0.5 and 5 stars, with 5 stars representing the highest performance.