North Carolina's 5-star hospitals ranked by profitability

North Carolina is home to some of the most prestigious hospitals, health systems and medical schools in the country. CMS rated 12 of its hospitals with five stars, based on five quality categories.

Each of them is profitable, and some appear to have large profit margins, according to data from Sage Transparency, which was launched by the Employers' Forum of Indiana. Atrium Health University City in Charlotte tops the list.

The database lists a hospital's total facility cost (the average amount paid for its services, weighted by volume of claims, as a percentage of what Medicare would have paid) and its breakeven point, shown as the average amount a hospital needs to be paid for its services, as a percentage of what Medicare would pay, to end up with no profit and no loss.

The difference between the two figures — what the hospital is paid versus its breakeven price — represents its relative profitability.

Note: Total facility cost is based on 2018-2020 data. Breakeven points were determined by the National Academy for State Health Policy through an analysis of each hospital's 2019 Medicare Cost Reports. As newer data becomes available, these figures will be updated.

*as a percent of what Medicare would reimburse for the hospital's cumulative service output