Health Net Hires Government, Health Care Leader for Business Development; Thomas F. Carrato Joins Federal Services Team

Health Net Federal Services (HNFS), the governmentoperations division of Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT), announced todaythat Thomas F. Carrato has joined HNFS as program officer, BusinessDevelopment, leading future business development avenues with theDepartment of Defense and Veterans Affairs. The addition of TomCarrato to the management team allows Health Net to add necessaryexpertise to its organization as the government's Military HealthSystem addresses the critical issues of benefit changes and risinghealth care costs. Carrato reports directly to Steve Tough, president,HNFS.

Carrato has a long-standing career in both the private sector andpublic health care arenas. He spent more than 27 years in variouscapacities in government managing and overseeing health care, mainlyfor military personnel and their families. He has served as AssistantSurgeon General of the United States, Regional Health Administratorfor the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and DeputyAssistant Secretary of Defense for Health Plan Administration. AsTRICARE Management Activity's (TMA) chief operating officer, Carratomanaged approximately 600 employees with an annual budget of more than$12 billion. Most recently in the private sector, he served asdivision president and vice president for MAXIMUS Federal Services,Inc., a publicly traded government services company that providescomplete program management and operations services to state and localgovernments, as well as the federal government.

"Tom's background complements our management team and providesadditional depth so that we may respond to the changing nature ofgovernment-provided health care, and serve our customer by offeringhigh quality health care in a cost-effective manner," said James E.Woys, president, Government and Specialty Services at Health Net, Inc."His experience as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for HealthPlan Administration and chief operating officer for TMA allows ourorganization to have better insight in becoming the best we can be."

"It is fantastic to be reunited with Tom since our days workingwith the CHAMPUS program," commented Tough. "In the late eighties,Tom, a CHAMPUS Program architect, understood the potential andpossibilities of what a government health care program could providefor military and their families. Today, as the military health caresystems continue to evolve, we believe Tom will be critical in joiningthe Health Net team to most effectively support our customers to helpthem realize their goals in military health care."

Scott Kelly, TRICARE program officer, HNFS, stated, "The FederalServices team welcomes Tom, and we are excited about the experienceand knowledge he will contribute to our organization. Tom's insightand management skills will further prepare us for the new challengesand opportunities the future brings in military health care andenhance our ability to continue to deliver exceptional service to ourcustomers."

"I am excited about joining the Health Net Federal Services teamand contributing to their important mission of supporting the TRICAREprogram and its beneficiaries," said Carrato.

Carrato, a retired Rear Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service,earned his Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Social Work from theUniversity of South Carolina, as well as a masters degree inAccounting from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He is both alicensed Master Social Worker and a licensed Certified PublicAccountant. Carrato is the recipient of many awards, including theDefense Distinguished Service Medal, an Honorary Fellowship from theAmerican Academy of Medical Administrators, and the TRUST Award fromthe National Military and Veteran's Alliance and the MilitaryCoalition Alliance.

About Health Net

Health Net Federal Services, a subsidiary of Health Net, Inc., hasa long history of providing cost-effective, quality managed healthcare programs for government agencies, including the Department ofDefense and Veterans Affairs. As the managed care support contractorfor the TRICARE North Region, Health Net provides health care servicesto over 3 million uniformed services beneficiaries, active andretired, and their families.

Health Net, Inc. is among the nation's largest publicly tradedmanaged health care companies. Its mission is to help people behealthy, secure and comfortable. The company's HMO, POS, insured PPOand government contracts subsidiaries provide health benefits toapproximately 6.3 million individuals in 27 states and the District ofColumbia through group, individual, Medicare, Medicaid and TRICAREprograms. Health Net's behavioral health services subsidiary, MHN,provides behavioral health, substance abuse and employee assistanceprograms (EAPs) to approximately 7.3 million individuals in variousstates, including the company's own health plan members. The company'ssubsidiaries also offer managed health care products related toprescription drugs, and offer managed health care product coordinationfor multi-region employers and administrative services for medicalgroups and self-funded benefits programs.

For more information on Health Net, Inc., please visit thecompany's Web site at www.healthnet.com. For more information onHealth Net Federal Services, please visitwww.healthnetfederalservices.com.

Cautionary Statements

Certain matters discussed in this release contain forward-lookingstatements within the meaning of Section 21E of the SecuritiesExchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the SecuritiesAct of 1933, as amended, that involve a number of risks anduncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historicalinformation provided herein, may be deemed to be forward-lookingstatements. These statements are based on management's analysis,judgment, belief and expectation only as of the date hereof, and aresubject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Without limitingthe foregoing, the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans,""expects," "may," "should," "could," "estimate," "intend" and othersimilar expressions are intended to identify forward-lookingstatements. Actual results could differ materially due to, among otherthings, rising health care costs, negative prior period claims reservedevelopments, trends in medical care ratios, issues relating toprovider contracts, operational issues, health care reform and generalbusiness conditions. Additional factors that could cause actualresults to differ materially from those reflected in theforward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the risksdiscussed in the "Risk Factors" section included within the company'smost recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and therisks discussed in the company's other periodic filings with the SEC.Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on theseforward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation topublicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events orcircumstances that arise after the date of this release.