CentraState Rejoins Health Net Network.

SHELTON, Conn. -- Health Net of the Northeast, Inc., a subsidiary of Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT), today announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with CentraState Medical Center, adding the Freehold, New Jersey hospital to its provider network. Under the contract, which takes effect immediately, Health Net members will be able to receive covered services at CentraState Medical Center as an in-network facility for its Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and Point-of-Service (POS) members.

"We are delighted to once again have CentraState as part of the Health Net network," said Steve Nelson, president, Health Net of the Northeast. "Our members in central New Jersey now have even more choices for their health care needs."

"Both CentraState and Health Net share a commitment to providing access to a wide range of high-value, cost-effective health care services," said Daniel J. Messina, Ph.D., FACHE, LNHA, senior vice president and chief operating officer, CentraState Healthcare System. "Participating in the Health Net network enables us to deliver on this pledge to our community."

About CentraState Medical Center

CentraState Medical Center is a 271-bed acute care medical center offering medical, surgical and obstetric inpatient services as well as ambulatory surgery and ancillary outpatient services. CentraState Medical Center located in Freehold, serves Monmouth, Ocean, Mercer and Middlesex counties in New Jersey. CentraState has been rated as one of the top quality hospitals in the country, according to Press Ganey patient satisfaction surveys, consistently ranking in the 90th percentile or higher. Additionally, CentraState recently received Magnet certification for exceptional nursing care from the American Nurses Association. It is a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Health Network and a clinical research affiliate of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

About Health Net

Health Net of the Northeast, Inc., headquartered in Shelton, Conn., employs approximately 1,800 associates in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. Health Net of the Northeast, through its subsidiaries, offers full-service health plans that serve nearly one million members in the tri-state area. The Northeast health plans offer a wide array of products including: Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), Point-of-Service (POS), Preferred Provider Organization (PPO), third-party administration, Medicare and Medicaid. With a physician network comprising more than 90,000 physician and provider office locations, Health Net is one of the largest health plans in the northeast, offering a full array of open-access products and coordination for multi-region employers.