54 NJ Hospitals Face Medicare Payment Cuts In 2027: See List

NEW JERSEY— More than 50 New Jersey hospitals face Medicare payment cuts this year under a federal program designed to reduce preventable hospital readmissions.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services imposed penalties on 54 New Jersey hospitals, with an average payment reduction of 0.56 percent, according to a Patch analysis.

The largest cut is CarePoint Health–Bayonne Medical Center, at 1.81 percent.

The federal program reduces the base payments hospitals receive from traditional Medicare for inpatient stays when they record higher-than-expected readmission rates for certain conditions and procedures.

The reductions took effect Oct. 1.

The Medicare payment cuts will not directly increase patients’ hospital bills or out-of-pocket costs, but they could put additional financial pressure on hospitals, potentially affecting their operations and services.

Nationally, 2,334 hospitals face penalties in fiscal 2027, about 80 percent of those evaluated.

Ten hospitals face the maximum 3 percent reduction, while 244 face cuts of at least 1 percent, up from 240 in fiscal 2026.

For fiscal 2027, federal officials evaluated hospital readmissions using Medicare data covering discharges from July 1,2023, through June 30, 2025. The government shortened the measurement period from three years to two.

The evaluation also marks the first year the government incorporated data from both traditional Medicare and MedicareAdvantage, the privately administered alternative to traditional Medicare.

The penalties, however, apply only to hospitals’ payments for traditional Medicare inpatient care.

What Counts As A Readmission Penalty?

The federal Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program reduces Medicare payments to hospitals with higher-than-expected rates of patients returning for inpatient care within 30 days of discharge.

The program targets six conditions and procedures: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery bypass graft surgery and elective hip or knee replacement.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services compares each hospital’s readmission rates with expected rates based on patients’ clinical risks.

The calculations account for factors such as age, medical history and other health conditions.

The program also adjusts for hospitals’ shares of patients who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, helping account for differences in the populations hospitals serve. However, those adjustments do not eliminate the influence of socioeconomic barriers on readmissions.

Do Hospitals Serving More Low-Income Patients Face Larger Cuts?

Hospitals treating the highest proportions of patients enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid faced an average penalty of 0.33 percent, unchanged from fiscal 2026.

Hospitals with the lowest proportions of these patients faced an average penalty of 0.32 percent, down from 0.35 percent a year earlier.

Medicare provides health coverage primarily to older adults and certain people with disabilities. Medicaid provides coverage to eligible people with limited incomes. Patients enrolled in both programs qualify for assistance through each.

Almost a quarter of evaluated hospitals escaped penalties in fiscal 2027, down from 21.8 percent in fiscal 2026.

Which New Jersey Hospitals Face Cuts?

Central New Jersey

• Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell: 1.44 percent
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick: 1.42 percent
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton: 1.41 percent
• Community Medical Center, Toms River: 1.34 percent
• Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington: 0.94 percent
• Monmouth Medical Center–Southern Campus, Lakewood: 0.94 percent
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – Somerset, Somerville: 0.85 percent
• Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin: 0.83 percent
• Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy: 0.55 percent
• Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel: 0.55 percent
• CentraState Medical Center, Freehold: 0.54 percent
• Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton: 0.18 percent
• JFK University Medical Center, Edison: 0.15 percent
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway: 0.11 percent
• University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro: 0.04 percent
• Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank: 0.03 percent
• Ocean Medical Center, Brick: 0.02 percent

North Jersey

• CarePoint Health–Bayonne Medical Center, Bayonne: 1.81 percent
• Saint Clare's Hospital/Denville Campus, Denville: 1.60 percent
• Saint Michael's Medical Center, Newark: 1.33 percent
• Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen: 1.19 percent
• Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck: 0.93 percent
• Hudson Regional Hospital, Secaucus: 0.84 percent
• AHS Hospital Corp, Hackettstown: 0.84 percent
• Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth: 0.83 percent
• Valley Hospital, Paramus: 0.82 percent
• Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood: 0.78 percent
• CarePoint Health–Hoboken University Medical Center: 0.72 percent
• Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville: 0.58 percent
• Jersey City Medical Center: 0.51 percent
• Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center, Montclair: 0.50 percent
• Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical Center, Westwood: 0.46 percent
• St. Mary's General Hospital, Passaic: 0.39 percent
• St. Luke's Warren Hospital, Phillipsburg: 0.34 percent
• Heights University Hospital, Jersey City: 0.32 percent
• CareWell Health Medical Center, East Orange: 0.31 percent
• Newton Medical Center, Newton: 0.29 percent
• St. Joseph's University Medical Center, Paterson: 0.21 percent
• Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, Paramus: 0.16 percent
• Newark Beth Israel Medical Center: 0.13 percent
• Saint Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick: 0.09 percent
• Overlook Medical Center, Summit: 0.07 percent
• The University Hospital, Newark: 0.05 percent

South Jersey

• Jefferson Stratford Hospital, Stratford: 1.32 percent
• West Jersey Hospital, Voorhees: 0.94 percent
• Inspira Medical Center Vineland: 0.61 percent
• Cape Regional Medical Center, Cape May Court House: 0.55 percent
• Cooper University Hospital, Camden: 0.45 percent
• AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center – City Campus, Atlantic City: 0.38 percent
• Virtua Mount Holly Hospital: 0.30 percent
• Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill, Elmer: 0.23 percent
• Deborah Heart and Lung Center, Browns Mills: 0.21 percent
• Virtua Willingboro Hospital: 0.12 percent
• Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Camden: 0.08 percent