Hospitals in nearly every state* faced fines, but some states had a higher percentage of hospitals penalized than others. The 10 states listed below had the highest percentage of hospitals fined by Medicare for high HAC rates.
1. Utah — 44.4 percent of hospitals faced fines (16 hospitals)
2. Connecticut — 41.2 percent (14 hospitals)
3. Rhode Island — 33.3 percent (4 hospitals)
4. Nevada — 32.1 percent (9 hospitals)
5. New Jersey — 30.7 percent (23 hospitals)
6. Colorado — 28.3 percent (15 hospitals)
7. New Mexico — 27.5 percent (11 hospitals)
8. Maine — 27.3 percent (6 hospitals)
9. Washington — 26.6 percent (17 hospitals)
10. Georgia — 25.2 percent (29 hospitals)
* No hospitals in Vermont or Hawaii were penalized. Hospitals in Maryland were exempt from the fines due to the state’s special payment arrangement with the federal government.
Editor’s note: Percentages were calculated using the number of hospitals fined by Medicare and the number of hospitals in each state, according to the American Hospital Directory.
