Tenet Reaches Agreement with Blue Shield of California

Business Editors/Healthcare Editors

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 16, 2009--Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) announced today that it has entered into a new, multi-year agreement with Blue Shield of California. The contract became effective Jan. 1, 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, members of Blue Shield of California’s managed care plans will retain access to Tenet’s 13 acute-care hospitals and three freestanding ambulatory surgery centers for their in-network health care services. In addition, 10 of the acute-care hospitals are in Blue Shield of California’s Medicare Advantage network.

“We welcome the opportunity to continue our long-standing participation in the Blue Shield of California provider network,” said Jeffrey Flocken, senior vice president of operations for Tenet’s California region. “Blue Shield is a leader in providing health coverage to Californians, and it is great to have strengthened and extended our agreement with them.”

The following Tenet hospitals are covered by these agreements and will continue to serve the health care needs of Blue Shield members in California:

Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs (Commercial)
Doctors Hospital of Manteca, Manteca (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)
Doctors Medical Center, Modesto (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)
Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Fountain Valley (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)
John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Indio (Commercial)
Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Lakewood (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)
Los Alamitos Medical Center, Los Alamitos (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)
Placentia-Linda Hospital, Placentia (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)
San Ramon Regional Medical Center, San Ramon (Commercial)
Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, San Luis Obispo (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)
Twin Cities Community Hospital, Templeton (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)
USC/Norris Cancer Center, Los Angeles (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)
USC University Hospital, Inc., Los Angeles (Commercial and Medicare Advantage)

In addition, the following freestanding ambulatory surgery centers will continue to be in Blue Shield of California’s network:

El Mirador Surgical Center, Palm Springs
Reagan Street Surgery Center, Los Alamitos
Sedona Surgery Center, Indio

Juan Davila, senior vice president of network management for Blue Shield of California, said, “We are delighted that Tenet and Blue Shield of California will continue working together to provide outstanding access to the highest quality of care for Blue Shield members across the state. Tenet’s broad network of hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers provides members the opportunity to select the medical facilities and care to best meet their needs.”

Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals and related ancillary health care businesses, which include ambulatory surgery centers and diagnostic imaging centers. Tenet is committed to providing high quality care to patients in the communities we serve. Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com.

Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements.Such statements are based on our current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K.Do not rely on any forward-looking statement, as we cannot predict or control many of the factors that ultimately may affect our ability to achieve the results estimated.We make no promise to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.