December 17, 2025
Jesi Wang, MetaStar President and CEO
It’s the time of year when people are filled with excitement as they prepare to gather with loved ones or embark on a fresh start in the new year. Jesi Wang, MetaStar’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is excited about something a little different. Wang enjoys sharing all the ways MetaStar improved healthcare quality in 2025. “It’s a fun time of year to look back and see what we’ve accomplished,” she said, a big smile reflecting how proud she is of the work MetaStar has done.
Starting With the Ends: MetaStar’s Destinations Await
At the end of 2024, the Board of Trustees provided MetaStar with new Ends—the specific benefits and impacts MetaStar exists to deliver. In 2025, MetaStar started creating ways to measure success as they work toward those Ends. “We aren’t going to have accomplished everything in one year,” Wang said, “but I’m excited that we saw measurable progress towards these new Ends.” She added that they now have “a baseline, some solid measures, and many ideas of where to go from here.”
Reliable and Trusted Data: When Numbers Save Lives
Without reliable data, evaluating what is working is nearly impossible. Scott Tiedemann, a healthcare data analyst at MetaStar, describes in the following video how reliable data—in this case, an increase in cervical cancer screenings—resulted in real lives saved.
The 22 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®)1 measures are now stratified by race and ethnicity per the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Race and Ethnicity Stratification initiative. During their HEDIS® audits, MetaStar auditors validate that the stratification is accurate. Wang notes the importance of actionable data about healthcare quality so MetaStar’s clients can make informed data-driven decisions.
Wang also shared that MetaStar performed 6,129 audits in 2025. While these audits varied in size and scope, MetaStar saw a 93.1% adherence to quality and safety interventions. Wang said, “We can lean into that trusted data, saying these systems are working,” and MetaStar can then focus on improvements for the other 6.9%.
MetaStar’s quality assessment work and the data captured by the External Quality Review team fuel three annual reports released by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). “It’s another example of where we’re contributing to reliable and trusted data that can lead to informed decision-making,” said Wang.
Collaborative Impact: Everyone WINs When Working Together
Heart disease, including atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), is the leading cause of death across Wisconsin. In the following video, Carrie Finley, project specialist at MetaStar, explains how the Medical College of Wisconsin, in collaboration with MetaStar, by design, and other co-designers, aims to reduce ASCVD in six counties around Milwaukee by directly connecting with residents.
Wang is excited about the positive outcomes from “asking the right questions of the right people. It helps us make sure we’re incorporating lived experience into our messaging, design, and interventions,” she said.
Wang also referred to several other collaborative quality improvement projects beginning or continuing their work with MetaStar. 87.5% of them include co-designers or lived experience input. “It’s an area that brings us a lot of energy and ensures that we’re solving the right problems,” Wang explained. These projects include the Coverdell Stroke Program, Behavioral Health Connect, Improving Nonsurgical Treatment for Urinary Incontinence (INTUIT), and Community-Academic Aging Resource Network (CAARN), among others. Even in a year of significant disruption, two-thirds of partners renewed or expanded their engagement with MetaStar in 2026, allowing MetaStar to continue their work with partner organizations to improve healthcare.
System-Wide Transformation and Improvement: Projects That Protect People
Though 2025 was a baseline-setting year, Wang proudly announced that three-quarters of the organizations MetaStar worked with showed measurable improvements. Wisconsin’s Medicaid Managed Care programs showed this in the implementation of performance improvement projects (PIPs). Alicia Stensberg, Director of External Quality Review, explains how these projects provide better care to patients.
In addition to the PIPs, 100% of Wisconsin organizations supported by MetaStar have implemented best practices. Wang explained, “We are ensuring what we bring to organizations is based in evidence and science.” One example involved reducing respiratory infections in nursing homes by implementing evidence-based infection prevention and control programs. “What’s critical to us is that we’re not just adding noise,” Wang explained. “We don’t want to add more busywork for already overworked health and healthcare organizations but meaningful interventions that truly drive change.”
Additionally, MetaStar has been actively assessing security, risk, and privacy as part of the Behavioral Health Connect program. This year alone, their security risk assessments saved $147,000 beyond the cost of work. Wang sees this type of ROI calculation as a potential growth area for MetaStar; she said, “We continue to keep looking at ways we can improve quality and save money going forward.”
Accountable and Transparent Systems: Custom Software Makes Quality Possible
MetaStar tailors their custom-made software to the needs of their clients, creating efficient and accurate solutions. Paul Neitzel, MetaStar’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), explains how these software solutions elevate quality outcomes.
Wang focused on how MetaStar’s independent quality assessments drive accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement. In 2025, MetaStar’s audits and quality assessments identified 594 quality gaps across the health plans and healthcare organizations reviewed. At the same time, 72% of these organizations met all quality standards for HEDIS®, Medicare-focused quality improvement, and security risk assessments. By making these gaps visible, MetaStar helps organizations clearly understand where to focus their future improvement efforts.
Through record review, MetaStar identified that Wisconsin Medicaid programs addressed 100% of identified risk areas to ensure the health and safety of all members. Additionally, MetaStar identified that 92.1% of Medicaid members in Wisconsin have access to adequate provider networks.
What’s In Store for 2026: Quantifying Positive Change
After a successful foundational year, MetaStar could easily take time to bask in their accomplishments. But that’s not their way. “We want to grow those measures, see that we are continually improving, and then start tackling even more,” said Wang with characteristic enthusiasm.
Wang’s focus is on their collective effect on healthcare system users. “Our commitment is to ensuring people are better off because of the work that we’re doing,” she said. She acknowledges the difficulty in measuring this: MetaStar’s work often supports other organizations. She said, “We don’t want to take credit for patient outcomes because there are so many others involved.”
While shifting governmental priorities, fewer funding sources, and problems that span multiple care settings will continue to challenge MetaStar, their commitment to measurable improvement in healthcare quality and equity remains unchanged. “As we move into 2026, I’m excited to deepen our impact. This year confirmed that we are on the right path,” Wang said. 2026 will allow MetaStar to continue their work making the healthcare system better today than it was yesterday.
1HEDIS is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
Starring…
Jesi Wang, MetaStar’s President and CEO, has worked for MetaStar for 22 years. In addition to spreading MetaStar’s good news, Jesi’s favorite end-of-year tradition is slowing down with family—complete with matching Christmas pajamas that her kids complain about but happily wear all year.
Kate Schultz is a freelance writer, a standardized patient, a volunteer, and a former high school English and theater teacher. Her favorite end-of-year tradition is rewatching that holiday classic, The Muppet Christmas Carol.