Health Net Transitions into TRICARE's Northeast and National Capital Areas.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT) has announced that beginning today, its government contract subsidiary, Health Net Federal Services (HNFS), will begin providing health care services to beneficiaries covered by the TRICARE contract in the District of Columbia and 11 states in the North region, formerly known as Region 1. The Department of Defense (DoD) awarded the North region to Health Net in August 2003 to serve approximately 2.85 million beneficiaries in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

Health Net commenced its North region contract on July 1 by providing health care services for beneficiaries in 12 states -- formerly TRICARE Regions 2 and 5, now referred to as the Mid-Atlantic and Heartland sub-regions.

"We are delighted to begin service for Northeast and National Capital beneficiaries," said Jim Woys, president, HNFS.

"Our team has been working diligently to ensure high optimization and beneficiary satisfaction levels for this region. We are confident that our experience during the transition to the Mid-Atlantic and Heartland sub-regions earlier this summer has prepared us to serve the rest of the North region," Woys said.

The September 1 transition date covers the former TRICARE Region 1, including Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and parts of Virginia and West Virginia. In these states, Health Net has established 40 TRICARE Service Centers (TSC), which provide walk-in services to beneficiaries and include program information, enrollment assistance, access to and referral for care, claims research and resolution, and program support and education. Enrollment activities for this region began on August 23.

On July 1, Health Net began serving beneficiaries in the Mid-Atlantic and Heartland sub-region in what was formerly Regions 2 and 5 of the TRICARE program, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Southern Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and portions of Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee.

Health Net has provided health care services to active duty and retired uniformed services members and their families since 1988 under what was then known as the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). Prior to being awarded the new TRICARE contract for the North region, Health Net had been serving the DoD by providing health care services for TRICARE Regions 6, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Health Net phased out of Region 9, 10, 11 and 12 on July 1, and will phase out of Region 6 in November of this year.

About Health Net Federal Services

Health Net Federal Services (HNFS) is the Government Operations Division of Health Net, Inc. As one of the first companies in the United States to develop comprehensive managed care programs for military families, HNFS has a long history of providing cost containment and managed health care programs for government agencies.

About Health Net, Inc.

Health Net, Inc. 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 HMO, POS, insured PPO and government contracts subsidiaries provide health benefits to approximately 5.3 million individuals in 14 states through group, individual, Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE programs. Health Net's subsidiaries also offer managed health care products related to behavioral health and 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 Web site at www.healthnet.com. Additional information on Health Net Federal Services can be accessed at www.healthnetfederalservices.com.