Exhibit 5

                        [Letterhead of Health Net, Inc.]


                                                     May 11, 2006



Health Net, Inc.
21650 Oxnard Street
Woodland Hills, California 91367

                   Re:   Health Net, Inc.
                         Registration Statement on Form S-8
                         ----------------------------------

Ladies and Gentlemen:

         I am Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Health
Net, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"). This opinion is furnished in
accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), in connection with
the registration under the Securities Act of (i) 6,750,000 shares (the
"Shares") of the Company's Common Stock, $.001 par value per share (the "Common
Stock"), issuable under the Health Net, Inc. 2006 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the
"Plan") and (ii) the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock Purchase
Rights attached to the Shares (the "Rights").

         In connection with this opinion, I or attorneys under my supervision
have examined and relied upon originals or copies, certified or otherwise
identified to my or their satisfaction, of (i) the Company's Registration
Statement on Form S-8 relating to the Shares and the Rights (the "Registration
Statement") in the form to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the "Commission") on the date hereof under the Securities Act; (ii) a specimen
certificate representing the Common Stock, in the form incorporated by
reference as Exhibit 4.9 to the Registration Statement (the "Specimen
Certificate"); (iii) the Sixth Amended and Restated Certificate of
Incorporation of the Company as in effect on the date hereof; (iv) the Ninth
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, as amended by Amendment Number One
thereto, as in effect on the date hereof; (v) certain resolutions of the Board
of Directors of the Company; (vi) the Plan, as in effect on the date hereof;
(vii) the Rights Agreement, dated as of June 1, 1996, between the Company and
Harris Trust and Savings Bank (as amended by the documents referenced in
clauses (viii) through (xi) of this paragraph, the "Stockholder Rights
Agreement"); (viii) the Amendment, dated as of October 1, 1996, to the Rights
Agreement, by and between the Company and Harris Trust and Saving Bank; (ix)
the Second Amendment to Rights Agreement, dated as of May 3, 2001, by and among
the Company, Harris Trust and Saving Bank and Computershare Investor Services,
L.L.C.; (x) the Third Amendment to Rights Agreement, dated as of May 14, 2004,
by and among the Company and Computershare Investor Services, L.L.C.; and (xi)
the Fourth Amendment to Rights Agreement, dated as of July 26, 2004, by and
among the Company, Computershare Investor Services, L.L.C. and Wells Fargo
Bank, N.A. I or attorneys under my supervision have also examined originals or
copies, certified or otherwise identified to my or their satisfaction, of such
records of the Company and such other documents, certificates and records as I
have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinions set forth
herein.

         In our examination, I and any such attorneys under my supervision have
assumed the legal capacity of all natural persons, the genuineness of all
signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the
conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified,
conformed or photostatic copies and the authenticity of the originals of such
copies. In making our examination of documents executed by parties other than
the Company, I and any such attorneys under my supervision have assumed that
such parties had the power, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all
obligations thereunder and have also assumed the due authorization by all
requisite action, corporate or other, and execution and delivery by such
parties of such documents and the validity and binding effect thereof on such
parties. As to any facts material to the opinions expressed herein which I or
attorneys under my supervision have not independently established or verified,
we have relied upon statements and representations of officers and other
representatives of the Company and others.

         I have also assumed that the certificates representing the Shares will
be manually signed by an authorized officer of the transfer agent and registrar
for the Common Stock, that such certificates will conform to the Specimen
Certificate and that the Shares represented by such certificates will be
registered by such transfer agent and registrar. I have also assumed that the
consideration received by the Company for the Shares will be in an amount at
least equal to the par value thereof.

         I do not express any opinion as to the effect on the opinions
expressed herein of the compliance or noncompliance of any party (other than
the Company) to the Stockholder Rights Agreement with any state, federal or
other laws or regulations applicable to them or the legal or regulatory status
or the nature of the business of any such party.

         Based upon and subject to the foregoing, I am of the opinion that (i)
the Shares have been duly authorized for issuance and, when issued and paid for
pursuant to the Plan in accordance with the provisions of the Plan and the
applicable award thereunder, will be validly issued, fully paid and
nonassessable; and (ii) the Rights have been duly authorized for issuance and,
when issued, will be validly issued.

         I am admitted to the bar in the State of Colorado and the State of
Illinois, and I do not express any opinion as to the laws of any jurisdiction
other than the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, nor do I
express any opinion as to the effect of any other laws on the opinions herein
expressed.

         I hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Commission as
an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, I do not
thereby admit that I am in the category of persons whose consent is required
under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the
Commission promulgated thereunder.

                                             Very truly yours,

                                             /s/ B. Curtis Westen

                                             B. Curtis Westen
                                             Senior Vice President, General
                                               Counsel and Secretary