ABSTRACT
Increasingly, managed care has been equated with managed cost. Yet, when it was introduced, managed care was supposed to be a new way to make the healthcare system more cost-effective. It also was supposed to help to ensure that quality of care was not adversely affected and was, perhaps, even improved. The creation by The National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA) of the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) is an attempt to provide purchasers of care the information they need to select the right health plan. It also provides a health plan the opportunity to have a report card on the quality of the services that it provides its members.
