The Utah Department of Health has released its annual report on how well the state's Medicaid and commercial HMO plans stack up against national averages and each other.

The report, the 10th to rank Utah HMOs, reports both customer satisfaction and how well the plans provide certain care, from asthma treatment to immunizations to cancer screenings and diabetes treatment.

The goal is to help employers and consumers who are choosing HMOs and to tell the plans themselves how they compare and how they might improve, said Keely Cofrin, HMO health program manager for the health department. The 2006 report is online at www.health.utah.gov/hda and is based on data provided by the HMOs and on customer-satisfaction surveys.

Cofrin said 42 percent of Utah's insured population receives care through one of the HMOs in the report: On the commercial side are Altius Health Plans, CIGNA Health Care of Utah, HealthWise, SelectHealth and UnitedHealthCare. The Medicaid plans are Healthy U, Molina HealthCare, Select Access and Fee for Service Plan. The two Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plans are Public Employees Health Program and Molina HealthCare of Utah.

Cofrin said she's especially pleased by high marks for customer satisfaction for the Medicaid and CHIP programs. "They look really good compared to national benchmarks, especially the CHIP programs."

On the commercial side, the state average was a mixed bag. "We're not seeing dissatisfaction with the ability to get care, to get it when they need it, or with the physician. What we're seeing is dissatisfaction with the way the plan itself operates," Cofrin said. "Cost consistently comes up as the reason."

People with lower premiums don't like their higher deductibles and co-payments, for instance. And vice-versa.

"There is really a need for helping consumers understand how their health plan operates and how to make the best choice for their families and particular needs," Cofrin said.

She singled out Healthy U as a plan that is now well above national averages on customer satisfaction. But overall, she said, commercial HMO plan ratings are declining, mostly because of "cost and frustration."

The report found that the commercial HMOs bested national averages for satisfaction with getting needed care, getting care quickly and customer service, but lagged on the health plans and health care. They are below national averages on well-child and primary-care visits for children and "well below" on adolescent well-care and immunizations.