Costs of Care and The Leapfrog Group Now Accepting Nominations for the Annual Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Healthcare CEO

CAMBRIDGE, MA, August 11, 2026 -- Costs of Care, a leading nonprofit dedicated to cultivating change agents who will lead the creation of a more affordable and equitable health system, in partnership with The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit rating health care facilities on patient safety and quality of care, is now accepting nominations for the annual Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Healthcare CEO.

This award recognizes a hospital or health system CEO who has demonstrated courageous and ethical leadership in addressing the twin issues of affordability and quality of health care in their community. Nominees must lead a hospital or health system that reported to the 2026 Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

The Outstanding Healthcare CEO award is named in honor of Steven Schroeder, MD, Distinguished Professor of Health and Health Care at the University of California, San Francisco, and former President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Schroeder has dedicated six decades inspiring and mentoring leaders to forcefully advocate for better quality and more affordable health care, and he has inspired leaders of both Costs of Care and The Leapfrog Group.

"The public worries about affordability in general and especially for medical care. Insurance coverage is uncertain, the health care workforce suffers from burnout and vacancies, hospitals in vulnerable communities are cutting services or even closing, and the political climate is chaotic. Guiding health care institutions to do the right thing in these volatile circumstances requires uncommon vision, courage, and moral strength. This award honors those leaders who are able to harness those qualities to keep their institutions providing high-quality, affordable care to the communities they serve. We hope that their example will encourage others to follow suit - the future of our field depends on it,” said Dr. Schroeder.

Last year's Steven Schroeder Award was presented to Jeffrey A. Flaks, President and CEO of Hartford HealthCare. Hartford HealthCare is Connecticut's most comprehensive healthcare system, with more than 48,000 colleagues, over 500 locations in 185 towns and cities, and a network that includes hospitals, physician practices, behavioral health, urgent and virtual care, rehabilitation, home care, and senior services.

“The Steven Schroeder Award is a meaningful recognition for all colleagues at Hartford HealthCare, because it represents a principle we believe deeply: Quality, affordability and access must advance together to build a better future for those we serve. This award is a celebration of all the caregivers, clinicians and colleagues who prove every day that exceptional outcomes and greater value for consumers and communities are shared responsibilities,” said Flaks.

"Health care simply isn't affordable enough for too many patients and families. The leaders we recognize with this award are showing that improving affordability does not require compromising quality. Their organizations are proving that better care and more affordable care can go hand in hand, and we hope their example inspires health system leaders across the country,” said Chris Moriates, MD, Executive Director of Costs of Care.

This year’s recipient will be announced ahead of The Leapfrog Group’s Annual Patient Safety Summit & Awards Gala and must be available to accept the award in person on December 8, 2026, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.

"Leadership matters enormously when it comes to the quality and affordability of health care,” said Leah Binder, President and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “The Steven Schroeder Award recognizes a CEO who is taking bold action to make care safer, better, and more affordable. We look forward to celebrating another exceptional leader this year.”

Nominations will be accepted now through October 2, 2026. For more information or to nominate a CEO for the Steven Schroeder Award, please visit Costs of Care.

About Costs of Care

Costs of Care is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating change agents who will lead the creation of a more affordable and equitable health system. Since 2009, Costs of Care has collected personal accounts from physicians, nurses, and patients all over the United States that illustrate routine and high-yield opportunities to improve the value of care delivery. Costs of Care directs the STARS program for medical and interprofessional students, catalyzing grassroots, student-led initiatives to advance health care value in medical education. Costs of Care has also created widely adopted and enduring resources to educate medical trainees and clinicians about how to address health care costs and provide high-value care, including the textbook Understanding Value-Based Healthcare, the "COST" framework for designing value improvement projects, multiple workshops, and free video modules.

In December 2019, Costs of Care launched the Affordability Moonshot - envisioning a world in which "no one has to choose between their life and their life-savings" – informed by an Affordability Framework for health systems and paired with an Affordability Accelerator in September 2021 with the subsequent publication "The Affordability Accelerator: A Road Map to Improve Patient Out-of-Pocket Costs and Trustworthiness in Health Care" in NEJM Catalyst.

Connect at http://costsofcare.org, be a part of the Moonshot at moonshot.costsofcare.org, and follow on Twitter/Instagram @CostsOfCare.

About The Leapfrog Group

Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is an independent national nonprofit organization driving a movement for patient safety and transparency. Leapfrog collects, analyzes, and publicly reports data on hospital and ambulatory surgery center performance to help patients, purchasers, and other stakeholders make informed health care decisions. Leapfrog's flagship initiatives include the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, a biannual letter grade focused exclusively on hospital safety, and the Leapfrog Hospital Survey. This voluntary survey publicly reports hospital performance on patient safety and quality measures. Leapfrog's ratings and reports are peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.

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