North Carolina hospital Medicare penalties
Which North Carolina hospitals Medicare is penalizing for infections and patient-safety problems in fiscal year 2026, and which had more readmissions than expected.
Safety penalty (HAC)20 of 8025% · U.S. 24%
Excess readmissions64 of 77Above expected on 1+ condition
In the programs80North Carolina hospitals
Fiscal year2026Penalty year
Every North Carolina hospital in the programs
Penalized hospitals first. Click a column to sort.
| Hospital | HAC penalty | Readmissions above expected | VBP score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carteret General HospitalMorehead City | 1% cut | 5 of 5Highest: COPD 1.10 | 41.3 |
| Cape Fear Valley Medical CenterFayetteville | 1% cut | 4 of 6Highest: Pneumonia 1.10 | 16.9 |
| Columbus Regional Healthcare SystemWhiteville | 1% cut | 3 of 4Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.18 | 17.1 |
| High Point Regional Hlth SystHigh Point | 1% cut | 3 of 4Highest: Pneumonia 1.07 | 18.1 |
| North Carolina Baptist HospitalWinston-Salem | 1% cut | 3 of 6Highest: Heart attack 1.06 | 27.5 |
| Sampson Regional Medical CenterClinton | 1% cut | 3 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.11 | 32.5 |
| Wilson Medical CenterWilson | 1% cut | 3 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.11 | – |
| Betsy Johnson Regional HospitalDunn | 1% cut | 2 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.07 | 28 |
| Caldwell Memorial HospitalLenoir | 1% cut | 2 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.18 | 21 |
| Carolinas Medical Center-LincolnLincolnton | 1% cut | 2 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.05 | 34.2 |
| Duplin General HospitalKenansville | 1% cut | 2 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.07 | 24.3 |
| Lexington Memorial Hospital INCLexington | 1% cut | 2 of 4Highest: COPD 1.07 | 38.1 |
| McDowell HospitalMarion | 1% cut | 2 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.08 | 19.9 |
| Rex HospitalRaleigh | 1% cut | 2 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.12 | 46.3 |
| Scotland Memorial HospitalLaurinburg | 1% cut | 2 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.09 | 35.5 |
| Wilkes Regional Medical CenterNorth Wilkesboro | 1% cut | 2 of 3Highest: COPD 1.04 | 37 |
| Granville Medical CenterOxford | 1% cut | 1 of 2Highest: Pneumonia 1.02 | 50 |
| Vidant Edgecombe HospitalTarboro | 1% cut | 1 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.15 | 26.2 |
| Wayne Memorial HospitalGoldsboro | 1% cut | 0 of 4 | 28 |
| Wilmington Treatment CenterWilmington | 1% cut | – | – |
| Caromont Regional Medical CenterGastonia | No | 5 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.25 | 32 |
| ECU Health Medical CenterGreenville | No | 5 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.49 | 15 |
| Frye Regional Medical CenterHickory | No | 5 of 5Highest: Heart bypass surgery 1.11 | 20.4 |
| Atrium Health PinevilleCharlotte | No | 4 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.15 | 25.4 |
| Firsthealth Moore Regional HospitalPinehurst | No | 4 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.23 | 43.4 |
| Hugh Chatham Memorial HospitalElkin | No | 4 of 4Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.06 | – |
| Lake Norman Regional Medical CenterMooresville | No | 4 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.20 | 18.9 |
| Carolina East Medical CenterNew Bern | No | 3 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.06 | 37.3 |
| Carolinas Medical Center-NortheastConcord | No | 3 of 6Highest: Heart attack 1.02 | 44.3 |
| Carolinas Medical Center-UnionMonroe | No | 3 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.08 | 39.4 |
| Duke Regional HospitalDurham | No | 3 of 6Highest: Heart bypass surgery 1.08 | 39.6 |
| Johnston Memorial HospitalSmithfield | No | 3 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.05 | 32.4 |
| Nash General HospitalRocky Mount | No | 3 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.09 | 35.3 |
| Southeastern Regional Medical CenterLumberton | No | 3 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.12 | 42 |
| UNC RockinghamEden | No | 3 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.03 | 45 |
| Watauga Medical CenterBoone | No | 3 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.12 | 35.8 |
| Alamance Regional Medical CenterBurlington | No | 2 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.24 | 32.5 |
| Brunswick Community HospitalSupply | No | 2 of 4Highest: COPD 1.05 | 44.5 |
| Cape Fear Valley Hoke HospitalRaeford | No | 2 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.06 | 68.2 |
| Central Carolina HospitalSanford | No | 2 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.08 | 18.3 |
| Cleveland Regional Medical CenterShelby | No | 2 of 4Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.07 | 31.2 |
| ECU Health North HospitalRoanoke Rapids | No | 2 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.09 | 20.3 |
| Haywood Regional Medical CenterClyde | No | 2 of 4Highest: Heart attack 1.02 | 34.7 |
| Maria Parham HospitalHenderson | No | 2 of 4Highest: COPD 1.11 | 22.8 |
| Moses H Cone Memorial Hospital, theGreensboro | No | 2 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.06 | 36.6 |
| New Hanover Regional Medical CenterWilmington | No | 2 of 6Highest: Heart attack 1.01 | 24.6 |
| Onslow Memorial HospitalJacksonville | No | 2 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.13 | 17.6 |
| Presbyterian Hospital-MatthewsMatthews | No | 2 of 5Highest: Heart attack 1.07 | 42.8 |
| Roanoke Chowan HospitalAhoskie | No | 2 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.08 | 22 |
| UNC HospitalsChapel Hill | No | 2 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.06 | 32.6 |
| Albemarle Hospital AuthorityElizabeth City | No | 1 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.04 | 33 |
| Anson Community HospitalWadesboro | No | 1 of 1Highest: Pneumonia 1.01 | – |
| Carolinas Med Ctr-UniversityCharlotte | No | 1 of 3Highest: COPD 1.06 | 30.1 |
| Catawba Valley Medical CenterHickory | No | 1 of 5Highest: Heart attack 1.01 | 32.6 |
| Duke University Medical CenterDurham | No | 1 of 6Highest: COPD 1.01 | 44.4 |
| Forsyth Memorial HospitalWinston-Salem | No | 1 of 6Highest: Heart bypass surgery 1.01 | 27.1 |
| Iredell Memorial Hospital INCStatesville | No | 1 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.13 | 27.5 |
| Lenoir Memorial HospitalKinston | No | 1 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.05 | 39.5 |
| Margaret R Pardee Mem HospitalHendersonville | No | 1 of 5Highest: Heart attack 1.01 | 29.7 |
| North Carolina Eye & Ear HospDurham | No | 1 of 1Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.06 | – |
| Person Memorial HospitalRoxboro | No | 1 of 2Highest: Heart failure 1.07 | 26.7 |
| Presbyterian Hospital HuntersvilleHuntersville | No | 1 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.03 | 38.2 |
| Rutherford Hospital INCRutherfordton | No | 1 of 4Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.01 | 29.6 |
| Stanly Regional Medical CenterAlbemarle | No | 1 of 3Highest: COPD 1.07 | 37.8 |
| Wakemed, Cary HospitalCary | No | 1 of 5Highest: COPD 1.03 | 23.2 |
| Wakemed, Raleigh CampusRaleigh | No | 1 of 6Highest: COPD 1.03 | 32.5 |
| Adventhealth HendersonvilleFletcher | No | 0 of 3 | 47.5 |
| C J Harris Community HospitalSylva | No | 0 of 4 | 28.5 |
| Carolinas Medical Center/Behav HealthCharlotte | No | 0 of 6 | 33.6 |
| Grace Hospital INCMorganton | No | 0 of 4 | 23.2 |
| Medical Park HospitalWinston-Salem | No | – | – |
| Memorial Mission Hospital and Asheville Surgery CeAsheville | No | 0 of 6 | 17.8 |
| Northern Hospital of Surry CountyMt Airy | No | 0 of 3 | 38.5 |
| Novant Health Ballantyne Medical CenterCharlotte | No | 0 of 2 | 52.3 |
| Novant Health Mint Hill Medical CenterCharlotte | No | 0 of 3 | 72 |
| Phs Indian HospitalSylva | No | – | – |
| Presbyterian HospitalCharlotte | No | 0 of 6 | 26.4 |
| Randolph HospitalAsheboro | No | 0 of 3 | 42.3 |
| Rowan Regional Medical CenterSalisbury | No | 0 of 5 | 29.2 |
| Thomasville Medical CenterThomasville | No | 0 of 3 | 28.5 |
Questions
Which North Carolina hospitals does Medicare penalize for patient safety?
20 of 80 North Carolina hospitals in the program (25%, vs 24% nationally) have their Medicare payments cut 1% in fiscal year 2026: Carteret General Hospital, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Columbus Regional Healthcare System, High Point Regional Hlth Syst, North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Sampson Regional Medical Center, Wilson Medical Center, Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital, Caldwell Memorial Hospital, Carolinas Medical Center-Lincoln, Duplin General Hospital, Lexington Memorial Hospital INC and 8 more.
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 North Carolina, 64 of 77 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.