Health Net and Sutter Health Expand Network Selection in Sacramento Area

Health Net of California, Inc. and Sutter Health have created a new HMO network providing lower-cost premiums for employers when their employees access medical care nearly exclusively through the Sutter Health system of hospitals, primary care physicians and specialists.

"Compared to the same level of coverage available through our full HMO network in the region, employers selecting the PremierCare HMO network will experience significant premium savings,” said Steve Sell, president of Health Net’s Western Region Health Plan. "PremierCare expands on Health Net’s focus on smaller, selective networks that give employers and members the opportunity to select the health care providers best fitting their individual needs and desires.”

"Physicians and hospitals across the Sutter Health network are dedicated to providing exceptional services and partnering with patients to help them achieve their best possible health,” said Sarah Krevans, regional executive officer for Sutter Health’s Sacramento Sierra region, "so this is an exciting opportunity to reach a wider base of patients through our focus on quality.”

"PremierCare is an example, in Sacramento’s own backyard, of health care providers and health plans working together with the aim of creating more affordable delivery systems and enhancing coordination of care in the current economy and in response to the provisions of health care reform,” said Greg Van Ness, regional managing director for the Sacramento/Central Valley region for Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA.

The PremierCare HMO network is available to Health Net members living or working in Sacramento, Solano, Yolo and parts of Placer and El Dorado counties whose health care coverage is through employers with more than 50 employees. In El Dorado County, medical services are provided through Health Net’s direct network of HMO physicians and Marshall Hospital in Placerville.

About Health Net

Health Net, Inc. (NYSE: HNT) is among the nation’s largest publicly traded managed health care companies. Its mission is to help people be healthy, secure and comfortable. The company’s health plans and government contracts subsidiaries provide health benefits to approximately 6.0 million individuals across the country through group, individual, Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE and Veterans Affairs programs. Health Net’s behavioral health subsidiary, MHN, provides mental health benefits to approximately 5.4 million individuals in all 50 states. The company’s subsidiaries also offer managed health care products related to prescription drugs, and offer managed health care product coordination for multi-region employers and administrative services for medical groups and self-funded benefits programs.

For more information on Health Net, Inc., please visit the company’s website at www.healthnet.com.

About Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region

Sutter Health’s Sacramento Sierra Region encompasses hospitals, physicians and outpatient centers in Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties. It is a part of the Sutter Health family of not-for-profit hospitals and physician organizations that share resources and expertise to advance healthcare quality. Serving more than 100 communities in Northern California, Sutter Health is a regional leader in cardiac care, as well as care of women and children, and is a pioneer in advanced patient safety technology. For more information about the not-for-profit Sutter Health network, visit the website at www.CheckSutterFirst.org.

Cautionary Statements

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical information provided herein, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements and as such are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management’s analysis, judgment, belief and expectation only as of the date hereof, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Without limiting the foregoing, statements including the words "believes,” "anticipates,” "plans,” "expects,” "may,” "should,” "could,” "estimate,” "intend” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially due to, among other things, health care reform, including the ultimate impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which could materially adversely affect Health Net’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows through, among other things, reduced revenues, new taxes, expanded liability, and increased costs (including medical, administrative, technology or other costs), or require changes to the ways in which Health Net does business; rising health care costs; continued slow economic growth or a further decline in the economy; negative prior period claims reserve developments; trends in medical care ratios; membership declines; unexpected utilization patterns or unexpectedly severe or widespread illnesses; rate cuts affecting Health Net’s Medicare or Medicaid businesses; costs, fees and expenses related to the post-closing administrative services provided under the administrative services agreements entered into in connection with the sale of Health Net’s Northeast business; potential termination of the administrative services agreements by the service recipients should Health Net breach such agreements or fail to perform all or a material part of the services required thereunder; any liabilities of the Northeast business that were incurred prior to the closing of its sale as well as those liabilities incurred through the winding-up and running-out period of the Northeast business; litigation costs; regulatory issues with agencies such as the California Department of Managed Health Care, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state departments of insurance, including the continued suspension of the marketing of and enrollment into Health Net’s Medicare products for a significant period of time, which could have a material adverse impact on Health Net’s Medicare business; operational issues; investment portfolio impairment charges; volatility in the financial markets; and general business and market conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed in the "Risk Factors” section included within Health Net’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC”), and the risks discussed in Health Net’s other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Health Net undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any of its forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this release.