MHN Supports Red Ribbon Week

Behavioral Health Provider Offers Tips for Parents to Keep Children Drug Free
SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
In support of Red Ribbon Week, the largest annual campaign to prevent drug and
alcohol abuse, MHN, the behavioral health division of Health Net, Inc.
(NYSE:HNT), is promoting awareness and education among parents and children.

"One of the best ways to prevent youth drug and alcohol abuse is to take an
active role in your child`s life," says Juanell Hefner, president, MHN, Inc.
"Simply being together is highly valuable. Spending quality time with children
and staying connected helps to strengthen the family unit, which can be
particularly important when children are faced with serious choices, such as
drug and alcohol use."

MHN recommends the following tips to fit in quality time with your children:

* Eat together - this healthy tradition gives families the opportunity to
reconnect and share the day`s events with one another.
* Read together - kids love to be read to; and not only does it help them
develop good reading skills and a thirst for knowledge, it creates undivided,
quality time between children and parents.
* Work together - find a regular chore that is usually done alone and make it a
job for two. This helps impart the values of responsibility and cooperation in
children, and brings parents and children closer together by working as a team.
* Play together - Share a sport, exercise or hobby you and your kids love or try
their favorite activity. When you find something you both love, make it part of
your regular routine together.
* Write together - People often express themselves more freely in writing or
show a different side of their personalities. Take a few moments each day to
write your children a note or send them a quick text letting them know you`re
thinking of them.
* Splurge together - Surprise your child with an occasional, spur-of-the-moment
treat. The real treat isn`t the ice cream or movie, it`s the unplanned, leisure
time your child gets hanging out with you.

To educate parents about signs that may indicate drug and/or alcohol use, MHN
has developed the following checklist. While some of these behaviors are
considered typical teen behavior, they are more likely to be of concern if they
appear together, suddenly, or are extreme in nature:

* Less attention given to physical appearance
* Poor appetite or unexplained weight loss
* Bloodshot eyes or slurred speech
* Frequent use of eye drops or breath mints
* Decreased attendance and performance at school
* Lack of interest in school, sports or other activities
* Withdrawal from family and friends
* New friends and a reluctance to introduce them
* Stealing or lying
* Irritability
* Lack of concern about the future
* Smelling alcohol on your teen`s breath or finding it in your teen`s room or
backpack
* Memory lapses, poor concentration and coordination
* Discipline problems at school

If parents strongly suspect their child of drug or alcohol abuse, a family
physician, school or behavioral health counselor can help decide the next steps
to take.

About MHN and Health Net

As the behavioral health subsidiary of Health Net, Inc., MHN provides
comprehensive behavioral-change solutions for individuals and organizations,
including managed behavioral health and employee assistance programs. MHN has
provided family counseling and advocacy services to military personnel and their
families since 2004, and launched its Government Services division in January
2006 to support these programs. The Military & Family Life Consultant Program
continues to serve and support hundreds of thousands of military personnel and
families across the nation and abroad. For more information, visit www.mhn.com
and www.mhngs.com.

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 6.7 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 6.6 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.

Health Net, Inc.
Media Contact:
Margita Thompson, 818-676-7912
margita.thompson@healthnet.com
or
MHN Media Contact:
Gina Clemente, 415-460-8054
gina.clemente@mhn.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009