Sutter Health and Health Net of California Announce Multi-Year Agreement

November 29, 2001

SACRAMENTO, CA — Health Net of California and the Sutter Health network of Northern California hospitals and doctors announced today that they have reached agreement on a new multi-year contract. The current contract ends December 31, 2001, and the new agreement becomes effective January 1, 2002 and runs through December 31, 2003. Today's announcement ensures uninterrupted coverage for the more than 200,000 Health Net members who use Sutter services and physicians.

The new contract provides Health Net commercial, Healthy Families and Seniority Plus Medicare+Choice members continued access to Sutter Health's Northern California hospitals and Sutter-aligned and affiliated physicians. In addition, the agreement covers Health Net TRICARE beneficiaries, preserving access to their contracted network of Sutter physicians and hospitals. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In a joint statement, Sutter Health CEO Van R. Johnson and Health Net of California President and Chief Executive Officer Cora Tellez said, "We're pleased to have reached an agreement preserving patient-physician relationships. We regret the disruptions and uncertainty that Health Net members and Sutter Health patients have experienced during our negotiations, and we appreciate their patience. We do share a goal of developing and maintaining a collaborative and positive relationship going forward."

Health Net of California, a subsidiary of Health Net, Inc. is one of the largest network-model health plans in the state, serving more than 2.5 million members statewide.

Sutter Health, one of the nation's leading not-for-profit networks of community-based health care services, serves more than 100 Northern California communities, from the Oregon border to the San Joaquin Valley, and from the Pacific coast to the Sierra foothills.