October 08, 2008 08:30 AM Eastern Time 

Health Net’s Martha Smith Named to Integrated Healthcare Association Board of Directors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Martha Smith, vice president of Health Plan Network Management for Health Net of California, Inc., has been named to the board of directors for the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA).

“I am pleased to join other health plan and health care leaders who are passionate about developing and driving activities aimed at improving the overall quality of California’s vast health care system”

“I am pleased to join other health plan and health care leaders who are passionate about developing and driving activities aimed at improving the overall quality of California’s vast health care system,” said Smith. “Our role is critical in charting a future path that will help decrease the number of uninsured and improve the outcomes of medical interventions.”

The IHA is a California-wide leadership group promoting quality improvements to health care in California. One of its principal projects is one of the nation’s largest pay-for-performance (P4P) programs that rewards medical groups for improvements based on performance against benchmarks. Other programs are focused on medical technology assessment; the purchasing, measurement and reward of efficiency in health care; and prevention programs directed at obesity.

At Health Net, Smith is responsible for all network management activities and initiatives, including all professional, institutional and ancillary contracting. She has more than 23 years of experience in the health insurance, medical group and hospital industries – more than 12 of them with Health Net. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a master’s degree in health care administration from the University of LaVerne, and she completed the Executive Development Program at the Hass School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

About Health Net of California

Health Net of California, Inc., a subsidiary of Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT), is one of the largest health plans in the state. Together with Health Net Life Insurance Company, it serves nearly 2.3 million members statewide and contracts with more than 56,000 physicians, 300-plus hospitals and more than 5,000 pharmacies, giving its members greater choice and more convenient access to care. Its commercial HMO and POS lines of business and its Medicare line of business have received the "excellent" accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and its Medicaid line of business has received the "Commendable" accreditation status. For more information about Health Net, please visit the company's Web site at www.healthnet.com.

Cautionary Statements

All statements in this press release, 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, unexpected utilization patterns or unexpectedly severe or widespread illnesses, membership declines, rate cuts affecting our Medicare or Medicaid business, issues relating to provider contracts, litigation costs, regulatory issues, 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 subsequent 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.