Since 2008, Leah Binder has served as President & CEO of The Leapfrog Group, an award-winning national nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., representing employers and other purchasers of health care calling for improved safety and quality in health systems. She is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and other publications, and consistently cited among the 100 most influential people and top women in healthcare and patient safety.
Since its inception 20 years ago Leapfrog has been the nation’s most influential voice for health care transparency, fostering groundbreaking innovations in quality reporting and payment policy. Over 75% of U.S. hospital beds are now represented in voluntary reporting to the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Under Leah’s leadership Leapfrog added to hospital ratings with ratings of hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers, and launched the Hospital Safety Grade which assigns letter grades on the safety of general hospitals across the country. Last year Leapfrog was awarded the prestigious Value Award by the World Health Congress. Most importantly, analysts estimate that Leapfrog’s influence helped save at least 40,000 lives in each of the past three years.
Before joining Leapfrog, Leah served as vice president of a nationally noted rural health system in Farmington, Maine; and prior to that as senior policy advisor in the Office of the New York City Mayor. She started her career at the National League for Nursing. She has a bachelors from Brandeis and two master’s degrees from University of Pennsylvania.