Aetna 4Q profit falls 15 percent

NEW YORK (AP) - Insurer Aetna says its fourth-quarter profit fell 15 percent, as it continued to struggle with pricing problems and rising medical costs that plagued it in previous quarters.

The Hartford, Conn., insurer says it earned $165.9 million, or 38 cents per share, in the three months that ended Dec. 31. That's down from the $194.7 million, or 42 cents per share, in the same period the prior year. Excluding one-time items it says profit totaled 40 cents per share. Revenue rose 13 percent to $8.76 billion.

Analyst polled by Thomson Reuters forecast a profit of 42 cents per share on $8.65 billion in revenue.

Aetna says it spent 85.4 percent of its premium revenue on medical care. The company is the third largest publicly traded health insurer based on medical enrollment.