Costs of Care

01/29/2026

Still energized from the 2026 STARS Costs of Care National Leadership Summit! 💫

Incredible to see students from across the country leading conversations on high-value, patient-centered care and real ways to reduce unnecessary services. Throwing it back to last year’s powerful workshops and student innovation — this community just keeps growing stronger as we continue to build a value-driven future of healthcare.

01/14/2026

📣 STARS 2026 National Leadership Summit | This Weekend 🌟

We’re thrilled to host the STARS 2026 National Leadership Summit, a nationwide gathering of future physician leaders committed to high-value, patient-centered care.

💡 Interactive virtual summit for all student Ambassadors

📘 National curriculum on high-value care & leadership

🤝 Mentorship & project planning

🗺️ Nationwide impact

🏫 28 medical schools

👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️ 108 student leaders

🎓 40 faculty mentors

From coast to coast—and across institutions—this summit represents a shared mission: advancing resource stewardship, outcomes that matter to patients, and sustainable healthcare systems.

A huge thank-you to our partner institutions and sponsors, including William Carey University COM, Creighton University, University of Queensland–Ochsner Clinical School, and SCAN Health Plan, for supporting the next generation of healthcare leaders.

🚀 The future of high-value care is collaborative—and it starts here.

12/17/2025

Huge congratulations to Hartford HealthCare President and CEO Jeffrey A. Flaks on being honored with the Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Healthcare CEO in partnership with The Leapfrog Group! 🎉 Your leadership and dedication to better, safer healthcare make a real difference—so proud to see you recognized.

Learn more about the Press Release Here: https://www.prweb.com/releases/costs-of-care-and-the-leapfrog-group-honor-hartford-healthcare-ceo-jeffrey-a-flaks-with-steven-schroeder-award-for-outstanding-healthcare-leadership-302642030.html

11/18/2025

⏰ Two Weeks Left to Join STARS 2026! 🌟

Across the country, medical schools are stepping up to transform the future of healthcare through the STARS program. With only two weeks left to enroll for the 2026 cohort, we’re proud to welcome an inspiring group of institutions 🎓 already committed to teaching cost-conscious, patient-centered care: William Carey University (Sponsor School), University of Chicago, Baylor, Texas A&M, UT San Antonio, Mount Sinai, Penn State, Quinnipiac (Netter SOM), UC San Diego, UCSF, UMass Chan, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

📅 Enrollment Deadline: December 1, 2025

If your school hasn’t joined yet, there are just 2 weeks left to be part of the national STARS network for high-value, patient-centered care!

👉 Faculty: Enroll your school here

🔗 stars.costsofcare.org

📬 Questions? Email [email protected]

11/06/2025

📣 STARS Clerkship Taskforce New Publication!

Congratulations to the STARS Clerkship Taskforce on their recent publication, “Perspectives on High-Value Care Education Among US Medical Students,” released in JAMA Network Open (October 2025)!

Link 🔗 to Article: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2840545

This national effort was driven by former and current STARS students — Michelle Chen, MD, MPH (UCSD); Shivani Jain, MD, MPhil, MSc (LSU); Anitra Karthic, BS (Ohio State); Karthik Ramesh, MD (UCSD); and Hannah Shenton, MD (Ohio State) — under the guidance of STARS Faculty Mentors Dr. Hannah Bassett (Stanford) and Dr. Allison Heacock (Ohio State).

Together, the team developed, deployed, and analyzed a cross-sectional survey of third- and fourth-year STARS students to better understand the state of high-value care (HVC) education across US medical school clerkships.

🔍 Method Highlights

—119 of 229 eligible students responded (52%), representing 40 US medical schools
—Survey assessed prevalence and perceived effectiveness of formal and informal HVC teaching in core clerkships
—Adapted from the CDIM annual survey, refined through cognitive interviews and pilot testing

📊 Key Findings

—Wide variation in HVC education across clerkships.
—Internal medicine and family/community medicine were perceived as most effective in teaching HVC.
—Emergency medicine and general surgery showed the greatest gap between need and implementation.
—More than 50% reported no formal HVC curriculum during core clerkships.
—63% of respondents reported dissatisfaction with their HVC education.

For the Future ✅: Consistency and clear objectives in formal curricula are needed to provide a strong foundation of clerkship-specific high-value care learning across the country.

Additionally, we are also honored to have expert commentary from William Silverstein, MD, MSc and Wendy Levinson, MD from Choosing Wisely Canada for this article 🔗: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2840547

👏 Huge congratulations to the entire team for the contributions advancing high-value care education nationwide!

This survey study examines the perceived prevalence and effectiveness of formal and informal high-value care curricula in core clerkships across US medical schools.

10/15/2025

We love seeing our CoC Fellows ⭐️ in action!

Our Fellows recently connected at the ASCO Quality Care Symposium, where leaders and innovators came together to advance patient-centered, high-value oncology care.

We’re proud to celebrate Drs. Meera Ragavan, Nicole Mott, Justin Barnes, and Jenny Xiang — each making remarkable strides in improving the quality and value of cancer care.

A special congratulations to our former STARS Fellow and current CoC Director, Dr. Fumiko Chino, who served as Chair of this year’s ASCO Quality Care Symposium! 👏

Moments like these remind us of the lasting impact of collaboration, mentorship, and shared commitment to building a smarter, more equitable healthcare system. 💙

10/15/2025

Calling all medical students and faculty champions! 🌟

Enrollment for the STARS 2026 Cohort is now open! 🎓
Join the national movement to transform the future of healthcare by integrating High-Value Care (HVC) education into medical training. Through the STARS program, students collaborate with peers and mentors nationwide to lead initiatives that improve patient outcomes while reducing unnecessary costs.

📅 Deadline to enroll your school: December 1st, 2025
🔗 Register here → https://stars.costsofcare.org/stars-2026-cohort/

Whether you’re passionate about health systems improvement, value-based care, or patient-centered medicine, STARS is your opportunity to make a measurable impact on how care is delivered.

Let’s shape a smarter, more sustainable healthcare future — together. 💡

10/07/2025

🏆 Know an outstanding leader in healthcare?
Don’t forget to nominate your CEO for the Steven Schroeder Award!
🗓️ Nominations due October 10th – just a few days left! The Leapfrog Group

📄 For more details and to submit your nomination, check out the official press release here: https://www.prweb.com/releases/costs-of-care-and-the-leapfrog-group-now-accepting-nominations-for-the-annual-steven-schroeder-award-for-outstanding-healthcare-ceo-302527043.html?fbclid=IwVERDUANcGtVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHksJIE-aLqqI7_ENOb7e4GtpwrG_x8SPTDuPSKiqVaSw_XOYPI5-3b6BXDi1_aem_QqsrfIhUGv_6cvF55KudRw

/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Costs of Care, a leading nonprofit dedicated to cultivating change agents who will lead the creation of a more affordable and equitable...

09/19/2025

09/19/2025

🎉 Throwback to last Friday when we had the honor of hosting our influential STARS Faculty at the first-ever STARS Faculty Leadership Summit — in person (!) — right here in Chicago!

The summit was filled with insightful discussion, inspiring leadership, and real momentum toward our shared goals. We’re so proud to bring together such a dedicated group of changemakers — and even more excited for what’s ahead.

Big thanks to everyone who made it a success!
📍

📸 (Swipe for photos from the day!)

06/28/2021

Reminder: Applications are due this Friday for our STARS UNITE program. Program details and a PDF version of the application can be found on our website!

Link: https://costsofcare.org/stars-unite/

05/23/2021

We’re thrilled to announce the official launch of STARS UNITE! This free, 6-month program will bring together interprofessional teams to improve patient affordability and equity. Each team will identify, plan, and begin to implement at least one project that serves their own community, with the ultimate goal of narrowing disparities in care delivery.

The program will kick off with a 3-hour virtual Interprofessional Summit on Sunday, October 10th, 2021 from 12p-3p EST. This summit will be in partnership with the High Value Practice Academic Alliance (HVPAA) National Conference. After the STARS UNITE Summit, teams will be supported in their project implementation through additional virtual coaching sessions and content resource sharing over the course of 6 months.

Team applications can be downloaded on our website (https://costsofcare.org/stars-unite/). All applications are due by Friday, July 2nd, 2021.