Health Net Is Leaving. Here’s Why Your Next Plan Shouldn’t Depend on Just One Carrier.

If your business offered a Health Net plan, you’ve probably heard the news. Health Net is exiting California’s small and large group health insurance market, and group coverage is expected to end on February 28, 2027.

For thousands of California employers, that means one thing: you need a new plan. But before you pick a new carrier and move on, it’s worth asking a bigger question. What happens the next time a carrier changes course?

The Health Net market exit is a reminder that when your entire benefits plan rests on one carrier, you’re one announcement away from starting over. There’s a better way to build a health plan, and you already use it in other parts of your life.

More options beat one option. Almost every time.

Think about the tools and services you rely on every day. In almost every case, the one that gives you choices wins.

One option	Many options	When the one option fails	With many options
One airline	A travel site like Expedia	A canceled route leaves you stranded	Rebook on another airline in minutes
A single album	A streaming library like Spotify	The same songs on repeat, and nothing fits the mood	Millions of songs, so something always fits
One hex key	An Allen wrench set	A different size bolt stops the project	The right size is already in the set
One stock	An index fund	One bad quarter sinks your savings	One company’s slump barely moves the total
One restaurant	A food court	Half your group doesn’t like the menu	Everyone picks what they want, then eats together
One taxi company	A rideshare app	No cabs available, so you wait or walk	Another driver is a few minutes away
One agent’s open house	A home listings site	You only see the homes one agent shows you	You see every home on the market
One insurance carrier	CalChoice (7 carriers)	The carrier exits and the whole company must switch	Employees pick another carrier and the company plan stays

Health insurance works the same way. A Health Net-only plan was one airline, one album, one wrench. It worked, right up until Health Net decided to leave.

What a single-carrier plan really costs you

When your group plan is tied to one insurance company, a lot of decisions get made for you:

• Doctor networks. Employees only get the doctors and hospitals that one carrier contracts with.
• Plan design. Your HMO, PPO or HSA options are limited to what that carrier sells.
• Market risk. If the carrier raises rates, cuts a network or exits the market, your whole group has to move at once.

That last point is exactly what Health Net groups are facing now: a forced, company-wide switch on someone else’s timeline.

CaliforniaChoice: the multi-carrier Health Net alternative

CaliforniaChoice (CalChoice) is built like the travel site, the music library and the full wrench set. Instead of one carrier, CaliforniaChoice gives your business access to plans from 7 carriers, all under one group plan with one bill.

Here’s what that means for a business leaving Health Net:

• Plans that match what you have. CalChoice offers HMO, PPO and HSA-compatible plans that line up with the Health Net plans your employees are used to.
• Employees choose. Instead of one plan for everyone, employees can choose the carrier and network that fits their doctors and their budget.
• Protection from the next disruption. If any one carrier changes its plans or leaves the market, your group plan stays in place. Employees affected simply pick another carrier at renewal. No starting over.
• One more year of Health Net. Groups that move to CalChoice with an effective date on or before January 1, 2027 can keep many Health Net plans for a full 12-month plan cycle. That’s time to transition on your terms.

Single carrier vs. CaliforniaChoice at a glance

	Single-carrier plan (like Health Net only)	CaliforniaChoice
Carriers available	1	7
Doctor networks	One carrier’s network	Networks from 7 carriers
Plan types	Only what that carrier sells	HMO, PPO and HSA-compatible plans
Who chooses the carrier	The employer, for everyone	Each employee, within the company’s options
If the carrier leaves the market	The whole company switches at once	Affected employees pick another carrier at renewal
Health Net in 2027	Group coverage ends Feb 28, 2027	A full plan year if effective by Jan 1, 2027
Billing	One bill	One bill for every carrier

Don’t just replace Health Net. Upgrade how you buy health insurance.

You could swap Health Net for another single carrier. But that’s just trading one airline for another and hoping this one never cancels.

With CaliforniaChoice, you stop betting your benefits on one company. You get choice for your employees, stability for your business, and a plan that’s built to handle the next market shake-up.

Ready to explore Health Net alternatives? Talk to your broker about CaliforniaChoice, or contact CaliforniaChoice to see plans side by side. Remember, to keep Health Net for one more year, your CaliforniaChoice effective date must be January 1, 2027 or earlier.