South Carolina hospital Medicare penalties
Which South 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)12 of 5124% · U.S. 24%
Excess readmissions44 of 51Above expected on 1+ condition
In the programs51South Carolina hospitals
Fiscal year2026Penalty year
Every South Carolina hospital in the programs
Penalized hospitals first. Click a column to sort.
| Hospital | HAC penalty | Readmissions above expected | VBP score |
|---|---|---|---|
| MUSC Medical CenterCharleston | 1% cut | 5 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.21 | 23.3 |
| Beaufort County Memorial HospitalBeaufort | 1% cut | 4 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.09 | 24.8 |
| Marion Regional HospitalMullins | 1% cut | 2 of 2Highest: Pneumonia 1.02 | 35.1 |
| MUSC Health Florence Medical CenterFlorence | 1% cut | 2 of 4Highest: Pneumonia 1.13 | 26.8 |
| Baptist Easley HospitalEasley | 1% cut | 1 of 3Highest: COPD 1.04 | 23.6 |
| Bon Secours-St Francis Xavier HospitalCharleston | 1% cut | 1 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.01 | 24.3 |
| Cherokee Medical CenterGaffney | 1% cut | 1 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.06 | 18.8 |
| MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center DowntownColumbia | 1% cut | 1 of 6Highest: Pneumonia 1.03 | 16.8 |
| Prisma Health Baptist ParkridgeColumbia | 1% cut | 1 of 3Highest: COPD 1.02 | 21.3 |
| Hampton Regional Med CtrVarnville | 1% cut | 0 of 2 | – |
| Hillcrest Memorial HospitalSimpsonville | 1% cut | 0 of 3 | 27.8 |
| Union Medical CenterUnion | 1% cut | 0 of 1 | – |
| Hilton Head Regional Medical CenterHilton Head Island | No | 5 of 6Highest: Pneumonia 1.08 | 12 |
| Lexington Medical CenterWest Columbia | No | 5 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.25 | 30.8 |
| Colleton Medical CenterWalterboro | No | 4 of 4Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.13 | 36.8 |
| Grand Strand Reg Med CenterMyrtle Beach | No | 4 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.36 | 17.6 |
| McLeod Regional Medical CenterFlorence | No | 4 of 6Highest: Heart bypass surgery 1.24 | 18.9 |
| Piedmont Healthcare SystemRock Hill | No | 4 of 6Highest: Heart attack 1.13 | 21.3 |
| Trident Medical CenterCharleston | No | 4 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.17 | 25.7 |
| Carolina Pines Regional Medical CenterHartsville | No | 3 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.11 | 32.5 |
| Oconee Medical CenterSeneca | No | 3 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.24 | 25.8 |
| Spartanburg Regional Medical CenterSpartanburg | No | 3 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.09 | 19.4 |
| Conway Medical CenterConway | No | 2 of 4Highest: Pneumonia 1.17 | 17.8 |
| Laurens County Healthcare SystClinton | No | 2 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.05 | 37.5 |
| McLeod Health CherawCheraw | No | 2 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.16 | 33.8 |
| McLeod Medical Center - DillonDillon | No | 2 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.08 | 58 |
| Palmetto Richland Mem HospColumbia | No | 2 of 5Highest: COPD 1.05 | 21 |
| Roper HospitalCharleston | No | 2 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.07 | 36.7 |
| Roper St Francis Hospital-Berkeley INCSummerville | No | 2 of 4Highest: COPD 1.03 | 33 |
| Self Regional HealthcareGreenwood | No | 2 of 6Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.13 | 32.5 |
| St Francis-DowntownGreenville | No | 2 of 6Highest: Heart bypass surgery 1.01 | 27.6 |
| Tuomey Healthcare SystemSumter | No | 2 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.05 | 30.1 |
| Waccamaw Community HospitalMurrells Inlet | No | 2 of 5Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.12 | 21.5 |
| Aiken Regional Medical CenterAiken | No | 1 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.01 | 23.3 |
| Anmed HealthAnderson | No | 1 of 5Highest: Pneumonia 1.01 | 27 |
| Chester Regional Medical CenterChester | No | 1 of 1Highest: Pneumonia 1.00 | – |
| East Cooper Reg Med CenterMt Pleasant | No | 1 of 3Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.13 | 43 |
| Georgetown Memorial HospitalGeorgetown | No | 1 of 4Highest: Heart attack 1.09 | 15.7 |
| Greenville Memorial HospitalGreenville | No | 1 of 5Highest: Heart bypass surgery 1.22 | 26 |
| KershawhealthCamden | No | 1 of 4Highest: COPD 1.05 | 21.1 |
| McLeod Health ClarendonManning | No | 1 of 3Highest: Pneumonia 1.01 | 41.3 |
| McLeod Loris HospitalLoris | No | 1 of 5Highest: Heart failure 1.06 | 26.2 |
| Mount Pleasant HospitalMount Pleasant | No | 1 of 4Highest: Heart failure 1.08 | 48.1 |
| MUSC Health Lancaster Medical CenterLancaster | No | 1 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.03 | 30 |
| Newberry County Memorial HospitalNewberry | No | 1 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.03 | 48.3 |
| Palmetto Health BaptistColumbia | No | 1 of 4Highest: Hip or knee replacement 1.13 | 19.3 |
| Pelham Medical CenterGreer | No | 1 of 3Highest: Heart failure 1.02 | 37.7 |
| Cannon Memorial HospitalPickens | No | 0 of 1 | – |
| Coastal Carolina HospitalHardeeville | No | 0 of 3 | 18.4 |
| Patewood Memorial HospitalGreenville | No | 0 of 1 | – |
| Prisma Health Greer Memorial HospitalGreer | No | 0 of 3 | 32.8 |
Questions
Which South Carolina hospitals does Medicare penalize for patient safety?
12 of 51 South Carolina hospitals in the program (24%, vs 24% nationally) have their Medicare payments cut 1% in fiscal year 2026: MUSC Medical Center, Beaufort County Memorial Hospital, Marion Regional Hospital, MUSC Health Florence Medical Center, Baptist Easley Hospital, Bon Secours-St Francis Xavier Hospital, Cherokee Medical Center, MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown, Prisma Health Baptist Parkridge, Hampton Regional Med Ctr, Hillcrest Memorial Hospital, Union Medical Center.
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 South Carolina, 44 of 51 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.