EXHIBIT 99.1

[GRAPHIC] Health Net, Inc
21650 Oxnard Street
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
818.676.60000
800.291.6911
www.health.net

News Release

Media Contact:	Lisa Haines 818.676.7912 lisa.j.haines@health.net
Investor Contact:	David Olson 818.676.6978 david.w.olson@health.net

HEALTH NET’S FOURTH QUARTER INCOME FROM

OPERATIONS CLIMBS TO $.78 PER DILUTED SHARE

Improvements in Health Plan MCR and Administrative Ratio Highlight Results;

Sales of Dental, Vision, and Employer Services Divisions Completed

LOS ANGELES, February 11, 2004 – Health Net, Inc. (NYSE:HNT) today announced that 2003 fourth quarter income from operations per diluted share climbed 117 percent to $.78 compared with $.36 per diluted share restated in the fourth quarter of 2002. Health Net reported net income of $90,268,000 in the fourth quarter of 2003. This includes pretax gains related to the sales of its Dental, Vision, and Employer Services divisions of $18,901,000 and pretax asset impairments of $16,409,000 related to buildings held for sale and an investment in an online

service that connects providers and insurers. Net income in the fourth quarter of 2002 amounted to $45,152,000, including the negative pretax effects of $48,170,000 in asset impairments.

Key points of the fourth quarter of 2003 included:

• A Health Plan Medical Care Ratio (MCR) of 81.7 percent, an improvement of 136 basis points compared to the same period last year and 42 basis points compared with the third quarter of 2003. The company noted that the rate of growth in health care costs is beginning to slow down;

• Health Net’s Administrative Ratio was 10.6 percent, a 10 basis point improvement compared to the same period last year and 20 basis points lower than the third quarter of 2003. The improvement resulted from the elimination of administrative expenses associated with the company’s Employers Services division which was sold on October 31, 2003;

• Commercial Health Plan enrollment, excluding the loss of CalPERS membership effective January 1, 2003, increased by approximately 61,600 members, or approximately 2.3 percent, compared to the end of the fourth quarter of 2002. Individual and Small Group enrollment increased from the end of the third quarter of 2003 by approximately 16,000 members, continuing Health Net’s steady gains in this segment;

• A Debt-to-Total Capital ratio of 23.5 percent, below the company’s stated target of 30 percent. It was 23.4 percent at the end of 2002;

• The repurchase of an additional 1,002,800 shares of the company’s common stock. The company has repurchased 16,799,255 shares through December 31, 2003, under

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its stock repurchase program announced on May 2, 2002, as amended in August 2003, to add an additional $200 million in repurchase authorization; and

• Days claims payable declined to 49.9 days at the end of the fourth quarter of 2003, compared with 50.9 days at the end of the prior quarter. The decline resulted primarily from lower health care costs. Total reserves for claims and other settlements increased by $33,411,000 to $1,034,775,000 as of December 31, 2003, compared to September 30, 2003.

“Our successful fourth quarter and 2003 clearly demonstrate that we are doing the things necessary to achieve profitable growth and build stockholder value,” said Jay Gellert, president and chief executive officer of Health Net.

“We continue to focus our operations as we completed the sale of our Employer Services business to First Health and our Dental and Vision divisions to SafeGuard. Our disciplined approach to the market and to pricing resulted in enrollment gains in targeted segments and improvement in the MCR,” Gellert added.

The company noted that its systems consolidation project, known as Health Net One, is scheduled for implementation in the third quarter of 2004, and is approximately 72 percent complete based on the planned labor hours for the project.

“We expect significant improvements in the administrative expense ratio in the second half of this year,” Gellert explained.

Restatements

Health Net is restating results for adjustments resulting from workers’ compensation expenses for Health Net employees, lease expenses and miscellaneous adjustments for the first three quarters of 2003 and for the full years of 2002 and 2001. These adjustments, the majority

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of which affect the G&A expense line, amounted to an increase of net income of $4,398,000, for the first three quarters of 2003, or approximately $.03 per diluted share. There was no impact on earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2002.

Additional detail will be supplied in the company’s 2003 Annual Report on Form 10-K expected to be filed by March 15, 2004.

Revenues

Health Net’s total revenues rose 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003 to $2,779,313,000 from $2,648,111,000 in the fourth quarter of 2002. Health plan services revenue climbed 3.6 percent to $2,295,217,000 in the fourth quarter of 2003 compared to $2,215,384,000 in the fourth quarter of 2002.

Health plan services revenue gains were the result of higher commercial and Medicare premium yields across the company’s health plans. The overall premium yield per member per month (PMPM) in the fourth quarter of 2003 rose 7.0 percent compared to the same period in 2002. The premium yield on commercial alone rose by 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003 compared to the fourth quarter of 2002. For the full year 2003, the commercial premium yield rose 11.8 percent versus 2002.

Total commercial enrollment declined by 4.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003 compared to the same period in 2002, due to Health Net’s January 1, 2003 loss of the 175,000-member CalPERS account and its exit from the Pennsylvania market in the second half of 2003.

The driver of commercial growth in the fourth quarter of 2003 was again the Small Group and Individual markets, up a robust 10.2 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2002. New products and improved broker relationships are fueling this growth.

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In the fourth quarter of 2003, Health Net’s Government contracts revenue rose 15.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2002, reaching $464,214,000. This was largely due to the effects on the TRICARE program from the nation’s ongoing heightened military activity. The company noted that an increased number of TRICARE enrollees continue to seek care in the private sector as many military health care professionals continue to be deployed abroad. As more care is provided in the private sector, contract costs and revenues rise.

“The implementation work on our new TRICARE contract for the North region is on schedule. We were pleased the protests were denied,” Gellert noted.

Other income decreased by $7,193,000 in the fourth quarter of 2003 compared to the fourth quarter of 2002, primarily due to lost revenue from the sale of the company’s Employer Services division. This sale helped lower the administrative ratio in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter of 2003, net investment income was $13,893,000, a decrease of $2,564,000 from the fourth quarter of 2002, primarily due to the lower interest rate environment in 2003 compared to 2002. Investment income in the fourth quarter of 2003 decreased by $3,781,000 from the third quarter of 2003. The third quarter of 2003 benefited from a gain on sale of a common stock holding.

Health Care Costs

Overall PMPM health plan health care costs rose by 5.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003 compared to the fourth quarter of 2002. Commercial PMPM health care costs rose by 6.3 percent. For the year, commercial PMPM health care costs rose by 10.8 percent. Continuing the company’s improving trends, the 2003 fourth quarter health plan MCR improved by 136 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2002 to 81.7 percent.

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The Government contracts cost ratio decreased by 16 basis points to 96.5 percent, compared to the fourth quarter of 2002 as restated.

Administrative Expenses

In the fourth quarter of 2003, Health Net’s administrative ratio (G&A plus depreciation) was 10.6 percent, a decrease of 10 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of 2002. Total general, administrative and depreciation expenses were $242,902,000 in the fourth quarter of 2003. The administrative ratio was lower in 2003’s fourth quarter due to the divestiture of the company’s Employer Services division as compared to the fourth quarter of 2002.

Health Net’s selling expenses increased by $4,812,000 to $59,021,000 in the fourth quarter of 2003 compared to $54,209,000 in the same period in 2002, consistent with the strong growth in broker-driven segments such as Small Group. The selling costs ratio was 2.6 percent for the fourth quarter of 2003, an increase of 20 basis points over the same period last year.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Cash and investments as of December 31, 2003 were $1,942,473,000 compared with $1,729,217,000 as of September 30, 2003.

The TRICARE receivable decreased by $44,642,000 from the end of the third quarter of 2003 to $90,928,000 at year-end.

Debt remained unchanged from the third quarter of 2003. The debt-to-total capital ratio was 23.5 percent as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2003, well below the company’s target of 30 percent. The debt-to-total capital ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2003 was 24.5 percent.

Reserves for claims and other settlements increased by $33,411,000 as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2003 versus the end of the third quarter of 2003.

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For the full year 2003, Health Net recorded a total of $21,518,000 in negative reserve adjustments related to health care claims from years before 2003. Of this amount, $10,155,000 is attributable to health plans and $11,363,000 is attributable to the company’s government contracts business.

Cash Flow

The company generated $378,585,000 of cash flow from operations for the full year of 2003, consistent with its expectations as of the end of 2003’s third quarter.

“The cash performance in 2003 gave us the capacity and flexibility to buy back stock,” Gellert noted.

Health Net repurchased 1,002,800 shares of its common stock in the fourth quarter of 2003. Since the inception of its stock repurchase program in May 2002, Health Net has repurchased 16,799,255 shares at an average price of $26.96 through December 31, 2003.

Outlook

For the first quarter of 2004, the company believes that a range of $.51 to $.55 per diluted share is reasonable given the impact of leap year with an additional day of health care costs, its typical seasonality and the ongoing expenses associated with its system conversion. The company had not commented previously on expected quarterly earnings.

The company does expect earnings improvement for the full year of 2004, especially in the second half of the year when it believes it will begin to realize substantial administrative expense savings following the completion of its systems conversion project. For the full year of 2004, Health Net currently believes that a range of earnings between $2.92 and $3.07 per diluted share is reasonable given general conditions in its markets and specific challenges faced by its Northeast division.

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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 risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical information provided herein may be deemed to be forward-looking statements (including without limitation the statements above under the headings “Restatements,” and “Outlook”). Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. 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 “Cautionary Statements” 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, which reflect management’s analysis, judgment, belief or expectation only as of the date hereof. 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.

As previously announced, Health Net will discuss the company’s fourth quarter results during a conference call with investors on Wednesday, February 11, 2004, at approximately 11:00 a.m. EST. To listen to the call, please dial 913.981.5571, code 202273. A live webcast and replay of the conference call also will be available at www.health.net. The conference call webcast is open to all interested parties. A replay of the conference call will be available following the call on Wednesday, February 11 through Sunday, February 15, 2004, by dialing 719.457.0820, code 202273. Anyone listening to the company’s conference call will be presumed to have read Health Net’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended

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December 31, 2002, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2003, June 30, 2003, and September 30, 2003.

Health Net, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest publicly traded managed health care companies. Its mission is to help people be healthy, secure and comfortable. The company’s HMO, insured PPO and government contracts subsidiaries provide health benefits to approximately 5.3 million individuals in 14 states through group, individual, Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE programs. Health Net’s subsidiaries also offer managed health care products related to behavioral health and 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.health.net.

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[Six pages of tables follow]

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Health Net, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)

	As Restated Fourth Quarter Ended December 31, 2002			As Restated First Quarter Ended March 31, 2003			As Restated Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2003			As Restated Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2003			Fourth Quarter Ended December 31, 2003
REVENUES:
Health plan services premiums	$	2,215,384		$	2,237,328		$	2,259,867		$	2,300,807		$	2,295,217
Government contracts		403,088			453,556			465,727			482,276			464,214
Net investment income		16,457			13,075			14,004			17,674			13,893
Other income		13,182			11,822			12,704			15,863			5,989
Total revenues		2,648,111			2,715,781			2,752,302			2,816,620			2,779,313
EXPENSES:
Health plan services		1,841,235			1,861,190			1,888,966			1,890,408			1,876,274
Government contracts		389,789			433,517			443,549			464,295			448,162
General and administrative		222,792			224,648			219,333			236,766			230,024
Selling		54,209			54,636			56,800			62,562			59,021
Depreciation		16,068			15,011			14,453			13,561			12,878
Amortization		993			669			669			669			767
Interest		9,862			9,762			9,769			9,763			9,841
		2,534,948			2,599,433			2,633,539			2,678,024			2,636,967
Asset impairments		48,170	(a)		—			—			—			16,409	(c)
Gain on sale of businesses		—			—			—			—			(18,901	)(d)
Total expenses		2,583,118			2,599,433			2,633,539			2,678,024			2,634,475
Income from continuing operations before income taxes		64,993			116,348			118,763			138,596			144,838
Income tax provision		19,841			44,213			43,822			51,876			54,570
Income from continuing operations		45,152			72,135			74,941			86,720			90,268
Discontinued operations:
Loss on settlement from disposition, net of tax		—			—			—			(89,050	)(b)		—
Net income (loss)	$	45,152		$	72,135		$	74,941		$	(2,330	)	$	90,268
Basic earnings (loss) per share:
Income from continuing operations	$	0.37		$	0.61		$	0.64		$	0.75		$	0.80
Loss on settlement from disposition, net of tax		—			—			—			(0.77	)		—
Net	$	0.37		$	0.61		$	0.64			($0.02	)	$	0.80
Diluted earnings (loss) per share:
Income from continuing operations	$	0.36		$	0.60		$	0.63		$	0.74		$	0.78
Loss on settlement from disposition, net of tax											(0.76	)		—
Net	$	0.36		$	0.60		$	0.63			($0.02	)	$	0.78
Diluted earnings per share before other items:
Income (loss) from operations - Diluted	$	0.36		$	0.60		$	0.63			($0.02	)	$	0.78
Asset impairments		0.24	(a)		—			—			—			0.06	(c)
Gain on sale of businesses					—			—			—			(0.08	)(d)
Loss on settlement from disposition					—			—			0.76	(b)		—
Net income before other items	$	0.60		$	0.60		$	0.63		$	0.74		$	0.76
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic		122,444			118,972			116,446			115,122			113,515
Diluted		123,999			120,577			118,631			117,827			115,943
Ratios:
Health plan services MCR		83.1	%		83.2	%		83.6	%		82.2	%		81.7	%
Government contracts cost ratio		96.7	%		95.6	%		95.2	%		96.3	%		96.5	%
Administrative ratio ((G&A+Dep) / (HP serv rev + Other income))		10.7	%		10.7	%		10.3	%		10.8	%		10.6	%
Selling costs ratio (Selling costs / HP serv rev)		2.4	%		2.4	%		2.5	%		2.7	%		2.6	%
Days claims payable		52.8			52.0			53.1			50.9			49.9

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Health Net, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Amounts in thousands)

	As Reported December 31, 2002			As Restated December 31, 2002			December 31, 2003
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	841,164		$	832,793		$	859,684
Investments - available for sale		1,008,975			1,008,975			1,082,789
Premiums receivable, net		166,068			163,853			144,968
Amounts receivable under government contracts		78,404			77,969			90,928
Reinsurance and other receivables		108,147			108,147			105,074
Deferred taxes		78,270			81,583			69,496
Other assets		91,376			90,899			84,842
Total current assets		2,372,404			2,364,219			2,437,781
Property and equipment, net		199,218			199,218			190,900
Goodwill, net		762,066			762,066			729,506
Other intangible assets, net		22,339			22,339			19,918
Deferred taxes		—			—			19,073
Other noncurrent assets		110,650			110,650			151,383
Total Assets	$	3,466,677		$	3,458,492		$	3,548,561
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current Liabilities
Reserves for claims and other settlements	$	1,036,105		$	1,027,779		$	1,034,775
Health care and other costs payable under government contracts		224,235			219,454			254,822
Unearned premiums		178,120			175,846			178,115
Accounts payable and other liabilities		263,590			279,419			309,209
Total current liabilities		1,702,050			1,702,498			1,776,921
Senior notes payable		398,821			398,821			398,963
Deferred taxes		9,705			9,705			—
Other noncurrent liabilities		47,052			47,052			77,468
Total Liabilities		2,157,628			2,158,076			2,253,352
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock and additional paid-in capital		730,626			730,626			789,392
Restricted common stock		1,913			1,913			5,885
Unearned compensation		(1,441	)		(1,441	)		(3,995	)
Treasury Class A common stock, at cost		(259,513	)		(259,513	)		(549,102	)
Retained earnings		826,379			817,746			1,052,760
Accumulated other comprehensive income		11,085			11,085			269
Total Stockholders’ Equity		1,309,049			1,300,416			1,295,209
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	$	3,466,677		$	3,458,492		$	3,548,561
Debt-to-Total Capital Ratio		23.4	%		23.5	%		23.5	%

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Health Net, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

(Amounts in thousands)

	Year Ended December 31, 2003
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income	$	235,014
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization and depreciation		58,677
Gain on sale of businesses		(18,901	)
Asset impairments		16,409
Loss on settlement from disposition of discontinued operations		89,050
Other changes		5,138
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of the effects of dispositions:
Premiums receivable		16,262
Unearned premiums		3,711
Other assets		31,355
Amounts receivable/payable under government contracts		22,409
Reserves for claims and other settlements		10,452
Accounts payable and other liabilities		(90,991	)
Net cash provided by operating activities		378,585
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Sales of investments		294,976
Maturities of investments		572,245
Purchases of investments		(977,266	)
Net purchases of property and equipment		(54,915	)
Net cash received from the sale of businesses		90,316
Restricted investments and other activity		(30,878	)
Net cash used in investing activities		(105,522	)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from exercise of stock options and employee stock purchases		42,330
Borrowings under term loan promissory note		5,680
Repurchases of common stock		(288,318	)
Repayment of debt and other noncurrent liabilities		(5,864	)
Net cash used in financing activities		(246,172	)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents		26,891
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period		832,793
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	$	859,684

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Health Net, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

Notes:

^(a) Pretax impairment charges for write-off of investment in MedUnite of $12.4 million and the impairment of IT assets of $35.8 million.

^(b) Loss on settlement from disposition of discontinued operations of $89.1 million, net of tax of $47.9 million, related to the settlement of a lawsuit arising from our 1998 sale of certain of our workers’ compensation subsidiaries.

^(c) Pretax impairment charges for buildings held for sale of $2.6 million and our investment in Navimedix of $13.8 million.

^(d) Pretax $18.9 million gain on the sales of our Employers Services, Dental and Vision divisions.

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Health Net, Inc.

Reconciliation of Reserves for Claims

(Amounts in thousands)

	Year Ended December 31,
	2003			2002			2001
Prior year incurred amounts expensed in the current year
Health Plan Services	$	10,155		$	11,654		($5,238	)
Government Contracts	$	11,363			($7,456	)	($18,686	)
Total	$	21,518		$	4,198		($23,924	)
Prior year incurred amounts expensed in the current year as a percent of current year expenses
Health Plan Services		0.2	%		0.2	%	-0.1	%
Government Contracts		0.8	%		-0.5	%	-1.4	%
Total		0.4	%		0.1	%	-0.3	%

As our estimates for health care costs are based on actuarially developed estimates, incurred claims related to prior years may differ from previously estimated amounts. The table above summarizes our amounts incurred in prior years for Health Plan Services and Government Contracts health care costs which have been expensed in the current year. Negative amounts result when claim payments related to prior years are less than our previously estimated amounts (from 2002 Annual report).

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HEALTH NET, INC.

Medical Covered Lives at December 31, 2003

( in Thousands)

	Commercial -Large Group					Commercial - Small Group & Individual				Medicare Risk				Medicaid				ASO				Insured Subtotal
	12/03	9/03		12/02		12/03	9/03		12/02	12/03	9/03		12/02	12/03	9/03		12/02	12/03	9/03		12/02	12/03	9/03		12/02
Arizona	67	68		77		52	50		41	36	37		39	—	—		—	—	—		—	156	155		157
California	1,112	1,114		1,257		559	554		502	99	101		102	702	709		721	2	2		2	2,475	2,480		2,583
Connecticut	208	213		249		46	47		56	27	28		29	98	99		105	57	58		57	436	445		495
New Jersey	141	144		160		154	150		140	—	—		—	45	47		48	19	19		2	358	360		350
New York	155	158		137		116	115		112	6	6		7	—	—		—	10	10		11	287	288		267
Oregon	93	87		64		27	22		16	0	0		—	—	—		—	—	—		—	121	109		79
Pennsylvania	4	17		38		—	—		—	—	—		—	—	—		—	—	—		—	4	17		38
Life Companies	—	—		0		0	0		—	—	—		—	—	—		—	—	—		—	0	0		0
Total	1,780	1,801		1,982		954	938		865	169	171		176	846	856		874	88	88		72	3,836	3,855		3,969
Year over Year		(10	)%				10	%			(4	)%			(3	)%			23	%			(3	)%
Sequential		(1	)%				2	%			(1	)%			(1	)%			(1	)%			(0	)%
	12/03	12/02		Year Over Year
TRICARE*
Active Duty Dependents	671	630		7	%
Retirees	820	816		0	%
Total TRICARE	1,491	1,446		3	%

* Best estimate based on available government data

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