More than 2,000 hospitals have been penalized at least once in the eight years since the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program began. Fifty-five hospitals have been penalized all eight years, according to Kaiser Health News.
The Hospital-Acquired Conditions Reduction Program aims to prevent harm to patients by providing a financial incentive for hospitals to prevent hospital-acquired conditions. Under the program, a hospital's total score is based on performance on several quality measures, including rates of infections, blood clots and other complications that occur in hospitals and might have been prevented.
Each year, Medicare cuts payments by 1 percent for hospitals that fall in the worst-performing quartile. CMS will trim 764 hospitals' Medicare payments in fiscal year 2022 for having the highest rates of patient injuries and infections.
The hospital industry has argued the program's design punishes hospitals that test most thoroughly for infections, since these facilities will appear to have the highest rates of infection, while those with less-thorough testing might appear to have lower rates.
CMS said it can't substantially alter the program.
"CMS is committed to ensuring safety and quality of care for hospital patients through a variety of initiatives," CMS told Kaiser Health News. "Much of how the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program is structured, including penalty amounts, is determined by law."
Here are the 55 hospitals that have been penalized all eight years of the program, according to Kaiser Health News.
1. Albert Einstein Medical Center (Philadelphia)
2. Ascension St. Francis Hospital (Milwaukee)
3. AU Medical Center (Augusta, Ga.)
4. Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto (Southaven, Miss.)
5. Brookdale Hospital Medical Center (New York City)
6. Cabell Huntington (W.Va.) Hospital
7. Carilion Medical Center (Roanoke, Va.)
8. Clovis (Calif.) Community Medical Center
9. Community Regional Medical Center (Fresno, Calif.)
10. Detroit Receiving Hospital
11. Eskenazi Health (Indianapolis)
12. Franciscan Health Olympia & Chicago Heights (Olympia Fields, Ill.)
13. George Washington University Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
14. Grady Memorial Hospital (Atlanta)
15. Harborview Medical Center (Seattle)
16. Hurley Medical Center (Flint, Mich.)
17. Jackson Health System (Miami)
18. Jamaica (N.Y.) Hospital Medical Center
19. Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Healthcare (Louisville, Ky.)
20. Kings County Hospital Center (New York City)
21. Long Beach (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center
22. Mercy Hospital and Medical Center (Chicago)
23. Montefiore Medical Center (New York City)
24. NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island (New York City)
25. Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport (La.)
26. OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center (Rockford, Ill.)
27. OU Medical Center (Oklahoma City)
28. Our Lady of Fatima Hospital (North Providence, R.I.)
29. Porterville (Calif.) Developmental Center
30. Presbyterian Hospital (Albuquerque, N.M.)
31. Prisma Health Richland Hospital (Columbia, S.C.)
32. Regional One Health (Memphis, Tenn.)
33. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (New Brunswick, N.J.)
34. Scripps Memorial Hospital-Encinitas (Calif.)
35. Sells (Ariz.) Hospital
36. Shands Jacksonville (Fla.)
37. SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital
38. St. Elizabeth Medical Center (Utica, N.Y.)
39. St. Joseph's Medical Center (Yonkers, N.Y.)
40. Stony Brook (N.Y.) University Hospital
41. The University Hospital (Newark, N.J.)
42. Truman Medical Center Hospital Hill (Kansas City, Mo.)
43. University Medical Center (Las Vegas)
44. University Medical Center New Orleans
45. University Medical Center of El Paso (Texas)
46. University of Louisville (Ky.) Hospital
47. University of Virginia Medical Center (Charlottesville)
48. UNM Hospital (Albuquerque, N.M.)
49. Valley Hospital Medical Center (Las Vegas)
50. Valleywise Health Medical Center (Phoenix)
51. Westchester Medical Center (Valhalla, N.Y.)
52. Wilmington (N.C.) Treatment Center
53. Windham Community Memorial Hospital (Willimantic, Conn.)
54. Woods at Parkside (Columbus, Ohio)
55. Wyckoff Heights Medical Center (New York City)