Hospital rankings
Hospitals in Kentucky with the highest value-based purchasing score
56 Kentucky hospitals ranked by value-based purchasing score in the 2026 Medicare (CMS) data. Filter by type, ownership and size, choose the measures you care about, and sort by any column.
| # | Hospital | Value-based purchasing scorehigher is better | Net Medicare quality adjustmenthigher is better | Readmissions penaltyhigher is better | Hospital-acquired condition scorelower is better | Value-based purchasing adjustmenthigher is better | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National average | 31 | −0.48% | −0.34% | 0.00 | +0.13% | ||
| T51 | Norton Hospitals, Inc | 16, 5th percentile | −2.70%, 2nd percentile | −0.77%, 13th percentile | +0.47, 21st percentile | −0.93%, 5th percentile | Compare Norton Hospitals, Inc |
| T51 | Owensboro Health Regional Hospital | 16, 5th percentile | −1.34%, 19th percentile | −0.41%, 30th percentile | +0.19, 36th percentile | −0.93%, 5th percentile | Compare Owensboro Health Regional Hospital |
| 53 | Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center | 15, 5th percentile | −2.34%, 4th percentile | −0.39%, 32nd percentile | +0.41, 24th percentile | −0.95%, 5th percentile | Compare Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center |
| 54 | Jennie Stuart Medical Center | 11, 1st percentile | −2.70%, 2nd percentile | −0.48%, 26th percentile | +1.07, 5th percentile | −1.22%, 1st percentile | Compare Jennie Stuart Medical Center |
| 55 | The Medical Center (Bowling Green) | 11, 1st percentile | −2.66%, 2nd percentile | −0.41%, 30th percentile | +0.58, 17th percentile | −1.25%, 1st percentile | Compare The Medical Center (Bowling Green) |
| 56 | University Of Louisville Hospital | 9, 1st percentile | −2.52%, 3rd percentile | −0.12%, 58th percentile | +0.71, 12th percentile | −1.40%, 1st percentile | Compare University Of Louisville Hospital |
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.
- Value-based purchasing score
- Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Total Performance Score (0-100), from outcomes, safety, patient experience and efficiency. It sets a Medicare bonus or penalty..
- Net Medicare quality adjustment
- Approximate combined change to the hospital's Medicare inpatient payments from the three pay-for-performance programs, added together: the readmissions penalty, the value-based purchasing bonus or penalty, and the 1% cut for hospital-acquired conditions. Inpatient prospective payment system hospitals only; Maryland hospitals are exempt..
- 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..
- Hospital-acquired condition score
- Total score in the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program, from patient safety events and infections (weighted z-scores; 0 is about average, higher is worse). Medicare cuts payments 1% for the worst-scoring quarter of hospitals..
- Value-based purchasing adjustment
- Change to Medicare payments under Hospital Value-Based Purchasing: a bonus (positive) or penalty (negative, up to 2%) based on the Total Performance Score..