Aetna 4Q profit sinks 49 pct, medical costs climb Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 6:09 am, Thursday, January 31, 2013 Aetna's fourth-quarter net income sank 49 percent as higher medical costs squeezed profitability for the insurer's commercial health coverage, and several one-time expenses chipped away at the bottom line. Aetna also booked an after-tax charge of $78 million tied to the settlement of litigation over its payment of health care providers outside its network. The insurer also had nearly $13 million in costs related to its acquisition of Medicaid and Medicare coverage provider Coventry Health Care, a $5.7 billion deal Aetna announced about a month before the fourth quarter started. Aetna Inc.