American Medical News staff. Posted Aug. 17, 2009: “The latest health plan ratings by Consumer Reports shows PPO members less satisfied than those who belong to HMOs, primarily because of poor scores for PPOs’ customer service and billing practices. Overall, 64% of the 37,481 readers surveyed said they were “very” or “completely” satisfied with their health plans. That “lukewarm” score puts health insurers ahead of cable TV providers but behind pharmacies and real estate agents, according to the report. HMOs collectively were not rated against PPOs. However, HMOs scored higher than PPOs in individual factors such as out-of-pocket costs and customer service. The highest overall HMO score of 85 out of a possible 100 went to Group Health. The best-scoring PPO, WellPoint-owned Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut, earned an overall score of 82.”