Tip: Accreditation is just one way to assess the quality of a managed care plan. The accreditation process is very expensive and some plans choose not to participate. This does not necessarily mean that the managed care plan is bad, but it does make it more difficult to judge the quality of care provided by the plan.

Tip: The NC Institute of Medicine and the NC Department of Insurance have information that you can use in comparing health plans. The NC Institute of Medicine has information comparing the benefits covered and excluded under the most commonly purchased HMO plan. This information can be accessed through http://www.nciom.org/hmoconguide/backh.html. The NC Department of Insurance has two guides comparing health plans: "Managed Care Plan Handbook: A Comparison Guide for North Carolina Consumers" and "HMO Performance Report." These guides can be ordered from the NC Department of Insurance by calling: 1-800-622-7777 or 1-800-546-5664.