80% of National Survey Respondents Want More Help in Understanding Health Care Options

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Eighty percent of respondents to a recent Health Net survey(1) are looking for more help in understanding their health care options when they need medical care. While consumers are playing a bigger role in their health care decisions, Health Net's proprietary Decision Power(sm) helps them better understand their treatment options.

Decision Power is a decision-support program that gives members access to online and other technology tools with comprehensive medical databases. In California, Decision Power is available to more than 1.6 million Health Net members. More than 100,000 Health Net members have used Decision Power's interactive features to address their health care questions in the two years since its introduction.

"After using the Decision Power program, 80 percent of surveyed members reported a higher level of confidence in dealing with their health and medical concerns," said Gordon Yenokida, M.D., chief medical officer for Health Net of California. "And more than two-thirds of surveyed members said that Decision Power improved their ability to communicate with their doctor. We believe Decision Power leads to better health results and higher satisfaction for the patient and the doctor."

"Consumers may not know all their options, or they may be confused about which option is best for them," added Yenokida. "That's where Decision Power comes in. We recognize that for many conditions there are multiple, equally effective treatment options to consider. Our program offers information and direct assistance that enables members to be confident, active participants in their personal health care decisions."

Among other features, Decision Power provides 24/7 access to Health Coaches who are specially trained professionals with 15 to 20 years of clinical experience, such as registered nurses, dietitians and respiratory therapists. Health Coaches provide evidence-based health information and coaching support to help members better evaluate their available health care choices.

"When I started getting an irregular heart beat and feeling dizzy in the middle of the night, I wasn't sure if I needed to go to the emergency room or not," said Timothy Lubina of Daly City. "With Decision Power, I explained my symptoms to a Health Coach, who advised me to go to the emergency room. I'm glad I did because I received the care I needed. With Decision Power, it was nice to have someone knowledgeable to speak with after normal business hours. Not only that, but my Health Coach called me back three times to check on my progress, which is a level of service that I'm delighted with."

Decision Power also provides support videos on specific conditions -- such as lower back pain, breast and ovarian cancer and knee osteoarthritis -- as well as information resources and online tools that allow members to determine their drug coverage and medication copayments, compare hospitals based on quality measures, and much more.

"When I hurt my back in a car accident, I was confused about my treatment options," said Debbie Hunt of Northridge. "Decision Power sent me a video on back pain that showed how my back and discs are supposed to work and what could be done to fix them. Now, I feel much better about the decision to have my back surgically repaired."

For more information about Decision Power, Health Net members may contact a Member Services representative at the number listed on their Health Net identification cards, or they may log on to http://www.healthnet.com/ > Make an Informed Decision > Decision Power.

Decision Power is available to Health Net's commercial and Medicare members in California. It is not available to those with Individual and Family Plan PPO coverage, Medicare Supplement benefits, or Medi-Cal coverage.

Health Net of California, a subsidiary of Health Net, Inc. , is one of the largest health plans in the state, serving more than 2.3 million members statewide. It contracts with more than 45,000 physicians, 300 hospitals and 4,600 pharmacies, giving its members greater choice and more convenient access to care. Its commercial, POS and Medicare lines of business have received the "excellent" accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. For more information about Health Net, please visit its Web site at http://www.healthnet.com/.

Certain matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical information provided herein, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. 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, 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, rising health care costs, negative prior period claims reserve developments, trends in medical care ratios, issues relating to provider contracts, operational issues, health care reform and general business 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 the company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and the risks discussed in the company's other periodic filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this release.

(1) The survey, conducted via telephone interviews from March 24 to 29, 2005, includes a nationally representative sample of 1,026 people and utilized a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing facility and Random Digit Dialing. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. The survey was conducted for Health Net, Inc. by StrategyOne. Contacts: Brad Kieffer, Health Net 818-676-6833 brad.kieffer@healthnet.com Jackie Quintanilla, Edelman 323-202-1053 jacqueline.quintanilla@edelman.com