New York Hospital Ratings Remain Among Nation’s Lowest Despite High Spending

The federal government released its latest hospital quality ratings Thursday, and New York once again finds itself near the bottom of the national rankings.

Of the 132 New York hospitals evaluated, the average score came in at 2.5 out of 5 stars, placing the state 48th out of 50.

While this is a slight uptick from last year’s 2.4-star average, when New York ranked 49th, the improvement was minimal.

This year’s numbers put New York ahead of only New Mexico and Mississippi, while still trailing Alabama, Arkansas, and West Virginia; all states with significantly lower income levels.

Despite having the highest gross state product per capita in the nation and spending above-average amounts on both overall health care and hospital services, New York’s performance remains poor. Federal data from 2020 shows the state’s per capita hospital spending was 43% higher than the U.S. average.

In the latest ratings, 10.1% of New York hospitals achieved the top five-star score, slightly above the national average, but the state had fewer hospitals earning four stars and more that received just one or two stars.

A large share of those low ratings came from the 10 hospitals run by New York City Health + Hospitals, which averaged just 1.5 stars. These facilities serve a disproportionate number of low-income and uninsured patients, and the federal ratings do not adjust for poverty.

Regionally, hospitals on Long Island, in the Mid-Hudson Valley, and in the Capital Region posted the highest scores, while the lowest averages came from facilities in the Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, and New York City. Ratings for individual hospitals can be viewed on Medicare.gov.

New York has consistently scored near the bottom of federal hospital rankings, and similar “report card” evaluations, for more than a decade, with little sign of state-led reforms to address the issue.

That could soon change. Sherry Glied, chairwoman of Governor Hochul’s Commission on the Future of Health Care, said the panel’s forthcoming report will include strategies to raise hospital quality standards.

“There are real deficiencies in hospital quality in New York across the state,” Glied told the Albany Times Union in June. “[It’s] really not acceptable. The state ought to be shifting its funding that it’s giving to hospitals in a way that really takes those quality considerations into account.”

The commission’s initial recommendations were expected in late 2024, but have yet to be released.