Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones this week released the 2012 Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) quality of care report card, which is available on the California Department of Insurance Web site.

“This report card is an important tool, because it provides consumers with more information about the quality of care so they can make choices that best serve their health care needs,” said Commissioner Jones.

“I want to encourage all Californians to take a look at the findings of the PPO report card before they shop for new health insurance,” said Jones. “As we approach 2014 and the full implementation of health care reform, access to information about health insurance products will become more and more critical. Consumers want information about the quality of available care and this report card provides useful data.”

Plans were ranked with one to four stars in various categories depending on how well they met national standards and how patients rated them in areas such as scheduling appointments and customer service.

Now in its third year, the PPO report card assessed six of California’s largest PPOs.

None of the six PPOs on the report card received the highest four-star rating, but Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co., Inc. (California) each received three stars overall for delivering quality clinical care.

Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Health Net of California PPO each received two stars overall in that category. Rating criteria included asthma care, checking for cancer, diabetes care and treatment of children.

The PPO report card is available now at www.insurance.ca.gov.

Consumers with insurance questions should contact the Department of Insurance’s help line at 800-927-HELP.