New Jersey hospital Medicare penalties
Which New Jersey hospitals Medicare is penalizing for infections and patient-safety problems in fiscal year 2026, and which had more readmissions than expected.
Safety penalty (HAC)5 of 618% · U.S. 24%
Excess readmissions57 of 61Above expected on 1+ condition
In the programs61New Jersey hospitals
Fiscal year2026Penalty year
Every New Jersey hospital in the programs
Penalized hospitals first. Click a column to sort.
| Hospital | HAC penalty | Readmissions above expected | VBP score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper University HospitalCamden | 1% cut | 4 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.24 | 21.4 |
| Saint Clare's HospitalDenville | 1% cut | 4 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.20 | 14.7 |
| Cape Regional Medical Center INCCape May Court House | 1% cut | 3 of 4Highest: COPD 1.05 | – |
| Carewell Health Medical CenterEast Orange | 1% cut | 2 of 2Highest: Pneumonia 1.21 | – |
| Valley HospitalRidgewood | 1% cut | 2 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.33 | 24.4 |
| Bayonne Hospital CenterBayonne | No | 5 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.14 | 33.3 |
| Community Medical CenterToms River | No | 5 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.17 | 20 |
| Deborah Heart and Lung CenterBrowns Mills | No | 5 of 5Highest: Heart bypass surgery 1.07 | 34.2 |
| Jefferson Stratford HospitalCherry Hill | No | 5 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.23 | 19.4 |
| Saint Barnabas Medical CenterLivingston | No | 5 of 6Highest: Heart attack 1.13 | 15.8 |
| Somerset Medical CenterSomerville | No | 5 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.17 | 26.8 |
| University Medical Center at PrincetonPrinceton | No | 5 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.38 | 22.4 |
| Atlanticare Regional Medical Center - City DivAtlantic City | No | 4 of 6Highest: Heart attack 1.07 | 27.6 |
| Capital Health System-Mercer CampusTrenton | No | 4 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.10 | 12.3 |
| Centrastate Medical CenterFreehold | No | 4 of 4Highest: Pneumonia 1.16 | 31.2 |
| Englewood Hospital and Medical CenterEnglewood | No | 4 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.10 | 25.1 |
| Hunterdon Medical CenterFlemington | No | 4 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.11 | 31.9 |
| Inspira Medical Center VinelandVineland | No | 4 of 4Highest: Pneumonia 1.16 | 29.5 |
| Jersey City Medical CenterJersey City | No | 4 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.10 | 27.1 |
| Newark Beth Israel Medical CenterNewark | No | 4 of 5Highest: Heart bypass surgery 1.14 | 21.8 |
| Robert Wood Johnson University HospitalNew Brunswick | No | 4 of 6Highest: Heart bypass surgery 1.42 | 27.5 |
| Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital HamiltonHamilton | No | 4 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.12 | 33.8 |
| St Joseph's Regional Medical CenterPaterson | No | 4 of 6Highest: Heart failure 1.17 | 22 |
| Virtua West Jersey HospitalVoorhees | No | 4 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.20 | 20 |
| Warren HospitalPhillipsburg | No | 4 of 4Highest: COPD 1.11 | 40 |
| Heights University HospitalJersey City | No | 3 of 4Highest: Heart attack 1.03 | 16 |
| Holy Name Medical CenterTeaneck | No | 3 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.04 | 38.8 |
| Hudson Regional HospitalSecaucus | No | 3 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.10 | 27 |
| Monmouth Medical CenterLong Branch | No | 3 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.06 | 26.6 |
| Monmouth Medical Center-Southern CampusLakewood | No | 3 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.19 | 27 |
| Ocean Medical CenterBrick | No | 3 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.24 | 28.7 |
| Our Lady of Lourdes Medical CenterCamden | No | 3 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.07 | 15.3 |
| Palisades Medical Ctr-Ny Presbyterian Healthcare SNorth Bergen | No | 3 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.11 | 21.1 |
| Raritan Bay Medical CenterPerth Amboy | No | 3 of 4Highest: Pneumonia 1.07 | 27 |
| Riverview Medical CenterRed Bank | No | 3 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.17 | 28.7 |
| Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at RahwayRahway | No | 3 of 4Highest: Pneumonia 1.07 | 36.5 |
| Saint Michael's Medical CenterNewark | No | 3 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.03 | 35.2 |
| Saint Peter's University HospitalNew Brunswick | No | 3 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.07 | 27.6 |
| Shore Memorial HospitalSomers Point | No | 3 of 4Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.14 | 25.5 |
| St Mary's HospitalPassaic | No | 3 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.15 | 23.9 |
| Trinitas HospitalElizabeth | No | 3 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.10 | 30 |
| Capital Health System-Fuld CampusTrenton | No | 2 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.01 | 12.2 |
| Clara Maass Medical CenterBelleville | No | 2 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.04 | – |
| Hoboken University Medical CenterHoboken | No | 2 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.09 | 25.4 |
| Inspira Medical Center Mullica HillElmer | No | 2 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.17 | 21.1 |
| Jersey Shore University Medical CenterNeptune City | No | 2 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.09 | 26.6 |
| Jfk Medical CenterEdison | No | 2 of 4Highest: COPD 1.05 | 21.2 |
| Mountainside HospitalGlen Ridge | No | 2 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.04 | 18.8 |
| Newton Memorial HospitalNewton | No | 2 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.14 | 30.8 |
| Southern Ocean Medical CenterManahawkin | No | 2 of 4Highest: COPD 1.08 | 27.5 |
| Umdnj University HospitalNewark | No | 2 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.05 | 14.7 |
| Virtua Memorial Hospital of Burlington CountyMt Holly | No | 2 of 4Highest: COPD 1.02 | 13.9 |
| Virtua Willingboro HospitalWillingboro | No | 2 of 3Highest: COPD 1.11 | 18.8 |
| Bayshore Community HospitalHolmdel | No | 1 of 4Highest: Pneumonia 1.07 | 33.5 |
| Bergen Regional Medical CenterParamus | No | 1 of 1Highest: Pneumonia 1.04 | – |
| Hackensack University Medical CenterHackensack | No | 1 of 6Highest: Pneumonia 1.04 | 36.3 |
| Hackettstown Regional Medical CenterHackettstown | No | 1 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.13 | 22.9 |
| Chilton HospitalPompton Plains | No | 0 of 4 | 33 |
| Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley MedicalWestwood | No | 0 of 4 | 27.7 |
| Morristown Memorial HospitalMorristown | No | 0 of 6 | 33.7 |
| Overlook HospitalSummit | No | 0 of 5 | 24.7 |
Questions
Which New Jersey hospitals does Medicare penalize for patient safety?
5 of 61 New Jersey hospitals in the program (8%, vs 24% nationally) have their Medicare payments cut 1% in fiscal year 2026: Cooper University Hospital, Saint Clare's Hospital, Cape Regional Medical Center INC, Carewell Health Medical Center, Valley Hospital.
What does a readmission ratio above 1.00 mean?
It means the hospital's Medicare patients were readmitted within 30 days more often than CMS expected for similar patients. In New Jersey, 57 of 61 rated hospitals were above 1.00 on at least one condition.
HAC: the quarter of hospitals with the worst hospital-acquired condition scores get a 1% cut to Medicare inpatient payments. Readmissions: a ratio above 1.00 means more readmissions than expected; whether payments are cut depends on how the hospital compares with similar hospitals, so a ratio above 1.00 alone isn't a penalty. VBP: Value-Based Purchasing total performance score out of 100. How the penalties work.