Group Health Cooperative and Health Alliance Plan topped the list of HMOs with fewest problems for members in a Consumer Reports survey conducted every other year.

Members of these plans said they had fewer problems getting the care they needed, and HAP members were more satisfied with their choice of doctors and the care they received, according to the survey.

They were joined in the top-rated HMO category by several Kaiser Permanente plans around the country, as well as Preferred Care, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Independent Health.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut was among the top-rated PPOs, as it has been in past surveys. Members remain very pleased with their providers and care they received. Other top-rated plans include Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Alabama, Illinois and Massachusetts; Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield in New York, and Independence Blue Cross in Pennsylvania.

Group Health Inc., Great-West Healthcare and Health Net members rated choice of doctors in those plans worse than other PPOs, the survey found.
At the bottom of the HMO list, Oxford Health Plan and Aetna Health HMO members gave the plans lower ratings for choice of providers. Oxford members also reported more problems getting the care they needed, while Aetna plan members reported more problems getting access to doctors, the survey found.