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Hospitals in Kentucky with the smallest Medicare readmissions penalties

59 Kentucky hospitals ranked by readmissions penalty in the 2026 Medicare (CMS) data. Filter by type, ownership and size, choose the measures you care about, and sort by any column.

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59 hospitals ranked in Kentucky by readmissions penalty; 44 more match but have no reported value.

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#HospitalReadmissions penaltyhigher is betterOverall star ratinghigher is betterPatient survey star ratinghigher is betterHeart attack death ratelower is betterHeart failure death ratelower is betterHospital-wide readmission ratelower is better · 2025 dataSerious complicationslower is betterTime in emergency departmentlower is betterMedicare spending per patientlower is betterTotal beds
National average−0.34%3.311.9%11.1%15.0%1.00162 min1.00
51Baptist Health HardinElizabethtown, KY · Acute care−0.92%3314.3%13.7%15.3%1.18183 min1.03300Compare
52St Claire Regional Medical CenterMorehead, KY · Acute care−0.95%2411.8%9.7%17.6%1.07178 min0.92149Compare
53Tristar Greenview Regional HospitalBowling Green, KY · Acute care−0.96%2312.5%10.6%15.8%0.81148 min1.08211Compare
54Harlan ARH HospitalHarlan, KY · Acute care−1.01%23—13.8%16.5%0.97196 min0.95150Compare
55Mercy Health - Lourdes HospitalPaducah, KY · Acute care−1.41%3310.6%12.0%15.5%0.77173 min1.03359Compare
56Paintsville ARH HospitalPaintsville, KY · Acute care−1.45%23—14.0%15.5%0.97165 min0.9672Compare
57Tug Valley ARH Regional Medical CenterSouth Williamson, KY · Acute care−1.88%23—10.1%16.4%0.95168 min0.81113Compare
58Saint Joseph EastLexington, KY · Acute care−2.00%23—8.3%15.2%0.88131 min0.94217Compare
59Monroe County Medical CenterTompkinsville, KY · Acute care−2.26%15—11.0%16.8%—128 min0.9249Compare

About these rankings

Rankings use the 2026 release of CMS Care Compare data. Hospitals share a rank (“T”) when their values are equal, and only hospitals with a reported value for the sorted measure are ranked. Shading compares each value with every hospital in the country, so it doesn’t change with your filters. Small differences are often not statistically meaningful; use the methodology and glossary for context.

Readmissions penalty
Change to Medicare payments under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, which cuts payments (by up to 3%) to hospitals with more readmissions than expected. 0% means no penalty..
Overall star rating
CMS overall hospital quality star rating (1-5).
Patient survey star rating
HCAHPS summary star rating (1-5).
Heart attack death rate
30-day death rate for heart attack patients.
Heart failure death rate
30-day death rate for heart failure patients.
Hospital-wide readmission rate
Rate of unplanned readmission within 30 days, all conditions. From 2025 CMS reports the Hybrid Hospital-Wide Readmission measure (claims plus EHR data), which replaced the claims-only measure; values are close but not strictly comparable across the change. CMS suppressed it for 2026.. Latest available: 2025 release.
Serious complications
Patient safety and adverse events composite (PSI 90; 1.0 = national value).
Time in emergency department
Median time patients spent in the emergency department before leaving.
Medicare spending per patient
Medicare spending per beneficiary episode relative to the national median (1.0 = national median).
Total beds
Total beds reported to CMS (Provider of Services file).