Health Net of New York to Transfer Medicare Advantage HMO Contract for Four New York City-Area Boroughs to Touchstone Health Partnership

Health Net of New York, Inc. (HN New York), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT), and Touchstone Health Partnership, Inc. (Touchstone), a physician-owned Medicare HMO serving New York beneficiaries, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for HN New York to transfer its Medicare Advantage HMO contract and the administration of health care benefits for HN New York’s Medicare HMO members in four New York City boroughs to Touchstone. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transfer affects approximately 6,500 HN New York Medicare members covered under HN New York’s Medicare Advantage HMO program in Brooklyn (Kings County), Bronx, Queens and Staten Island (Richmond County). Approximately 5,700 of those individuals currently receive their health care benefits from Touchstone under terms of a contract between HN New York and Touchstone. HN New York will continue to offer Medicare Part D throughout the state and Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) coverage to seniors and other Medicare-eligible individuals in upstate New York. HN New York’s commercial product offerings and Health Net, Inc.’s Medicare Advantage operations in other parts of the country are also unaffected. The transfer is expected to become effective on September 1, 2007, subject to approval by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). "We strongly support the mission of the Medicare Advantage program,” said Steve Calabrese, Medicare officer for Health Net of the Northeast. "This transfer will allow us to focus on our core and targeted expansion markets for Medicare in the state of Connecticut, where we are experiencing significant growth, and in upstate New York.” Calabrese added, "Each member’s welfare remains both Health Net’s and Touchstone’s foremost concern. Both companies will do everything possible to assure a seamless transition of care for all members.” HN New York’s members’ coverage will automatically transition to Touchstone effective September 1, 2007, assuming the transaction is approved by CMS. "Our two organizations have worked together to serve Medicare members for the past eight years and share a tradition of providing quality service and value to them,” said John Randazzo, Touchstone Health Partnership CEO. "We will continue that tradition by focusing on the unique needs of seniors and other Medicare-eligible individuals and providing them with the same benefits they currently receive.” To ensure a smooth transition, members will be able to contact the Touchstone or Health Net Member Services Helplines for answers to their questions and help with the process. Members can call Touchstone at (888) 777-0204 or Health Net at (800) 547-8734. Touchstone and Health Net will communicate with members and providers in New York according to CMS guidelines. About Health Net 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 health plans and government contracts subsidiaries provide health benefits to approximately 6.6 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 7.1 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 Web site at www.healthnet.com. About Touchstone Health Partnership Founded in New York City by local doctors, Touchstone Health Partnership’s exclusive goal is to provide efficient and quality health care to Medicare beneficiaries in the communities it serves. Touchstone Health is committed to the delivery of compassionate, coordinated and comprehensive health care services through community-based neighborhood doctors and providers. At Touchstone Health, each member is treated as a total person, not just as a set of symptoms. For more information on how you can receive Medicare with ExtraCare, please visit us at the Web at www.touchstone-health.com. Cautionary Statements This release contains 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, litigation costs, 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 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed 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.