Health plan resource use: bringing us closer to value-based decisions.

Objective: To examine commercial health plan variation in resource use for members with diabetes and its relationship to the quality of care for these members.

Study Design: Cohort study using National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set data submitted to the NCQA in 2007, reflecting 2006 health plan performance. Data are submitted to the NCQA by plans based on claim and administrative data; medical record data may be used to supplement missing claim data.