Health Net, Inc. Health Plans Earn National and Regional Quality Distinctions

For the second year in a row, Health Net of Connecticut is ranked the No. 11 commercial health plan in the nation by U.S. News/NCQA America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10 in terms of providing access to quality care and services.

And other Health Net commercial plans, plus Medicare and Medicaid plans, demonstrated their regional strengths in the magazine’s annual rankings:

• Health Net of Arizona’s commercial plan is the highest-ranked plan in the state for the third straight year.
• Health Net of California’s Medicaid plan is the highest-ranked in the state.
• Health Net of California’s commercial plan is the highest-ranked major network-model plan in the state for two years’ running.
• Health Net of California’s Medicare Advantage plan is the highest-ranked network-model Medicare plan in the state, a repeat performance from last year.
• Health Net of Connecticut’s Medicare Advantage plan is the second-highest ranked Medicare plan in the state.

"Quality care and service is a central focus for Health Net, and our continued strong showing in the U.S. News survey is positive proof of the value we work so hard to provide to our customers,” said Jonathan Scheff, M.D., Health Net’s chief medical officer.

More Excellent News

In addition, Health Net of California’s Medicare Advantage plan has retained its existing "Excellent” status for Health Plan Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

"This is continued excellent news about Health Net’s quality,” said Charles Payton, M.D., chief medical officer for Health Net of California. "In addition to our Medicare Advantage plan, our commercial HMO and POS and Medi-Cal lines of business also have received Excellent Accreditation status this year from NCQA.”

"It is partly a health plan’s members that determine whether it earns NCQA’s Excellent Accreditation status,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, president of NCQA. "Any plan that does so should be proud of its accomplishment. It is a sign that the plan is delivering great service and great care.”

The affirmation of Health Net of California’s Accreditation status follows NCQA’s annual assessment of health care quality using its HEDIS^® (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) and CAHPS^® (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) data.

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 6.5 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.

HEDIS is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

CAHPS^® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

"America’s Best Health Insurance Plans” is a trademark of U.S. News and World Report.