How to choose a hospital
What Medicare star ratings, patient surveys, infections and readmissions on our hospital pages mean, what to ask, who pays, and how to complain about a hospital.
Who this guide is for
For anyone planning a surgery, a birth, a test or a hospital stay that can be scheduled, and for families helping them. Often your doctor decides where you go, because doctors work at certain hospitals; you can still ask about other choices.
What the official data on our pages means
- Hospital type
- How Medicare (CMS) classifies the hospital: general (acute care), critical access (small rural), children’s, psychiatric, rehabilitation, long-term acute care and others. Each hospital page explains its type.
- Overall Medicare star rating
- 1 to 5 stars that summarize many measures in five groups: deaths after certain conditions, safety of care (such as infections), returns to the hospital, patient experience, and timely and effective care. Some hospitals are not rated, often because they report too few cases. See what star ratings mean.
- Patient survey
- Answers from patients who stayed overnight to a national survey (HCAHPS): how well nurses and doctors communicated, help when needed, cleanliness, quietness, and whether they would recommend the hospital.
- Infections, complications, readmissions, ER times
- Each result is compared with the national rate or benchmark. “Too few cases” means the hospital treated too few patients for a fair comparison, not that it did well or badly.
- Prices
- Where we could read the hospital’s federal price file, a selection of common services as the hospital lists them. See how to use the prices section.
- Services, emergency designations, visiting
- On in-depth profiles: what the hospital says on its own official website, with the date we checked it. Designations such as trauma or stroke center expire and are renewed, so confirm with the hospital.
Questions to ask when you call or visit
- Is the hospital in my insurance plan’s network? Are the surgeon, anesthesiologist and other doctors who will treat me in the network too?
- How many times a year does this hospital (and this surgeon) do the procedure I need?
- Will I be admitted as an inpatient or kept as an outpatient “under observation”? This changes what Medicare and other insurance pay.
- Can I get an estimate of what I will pay before a planned service?
- Are interpreters available at no cost? Can a family member stay with me?
- Who will plan my discharge, and what help will I have at home or in a rehabilitation or nursing facility afterward?
- Write down your questions for the doctor and bring a list of all your medicines.
Warning signs
- Results well below the national rate for the same kind of care you need, especially if they repeat across years.
- You cannot get a clear answer about whether the hospital or the doctors are in your network, or about the cost of planned care.
- Staff rush a discharge before you understand your medicines, your follow-up care or who to call with problems.
Costs and who pays
Medicare Part A helps pay for inpatient hospital stays, after a deductible for each benefit period; Part B helps pay for outpatient care, including observation, usually with 20% coinsurance after the yearly deductible. The amounts are set each year.
Medicaid is run by each state with federal rules, for people with limited income and savings. Rules, covered services and waiting lists differ by state: ask your state Medicaid agency.
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan or other insurance, call the plan first: it may need to approve the care in advance and may only pay for providers in its network.
No insurance or paying yourself: ask for a good faith estimate before planned care, and ask about the hospital’s financial assistance (charity care) policy. Tax-exempt (non-profit) hospitals must have a written financial assistance policy.
In general terms only. Deductibles, coinsurance and other amounts change every year, and Medicaid rules differ by state: check Medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE or your state Medicaid agency, and ask your plan.
How to complain or get help
- Start with the hospital: ask for the patient advocate or patient relations office. Hospitals that take Medicare must have a process to handle complaints (grievances).
- State health department: the state agency that licenses and inspects hospitals takes complaints about safety and quality of care.
- People with Medicare: the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization (BFCC-QIO) for your state reviews complaints about the quality of care and appeals if you think you are being discharged too soon. The notice “An Important Message from Medicare About Your Rights”, given during a hospital stay, explains how to appeal.
- Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY 1-877-486-2048, free, with help in Spanish and other languages.
Find care on US Patient Guide
Common questions
Does the overall star rating tell me which hospital is best for my surgery?
Not on its own. It summarizes many measures for all kinds of patients. Look at the results closest to the care you need, the hospital’s experience with your procedure, and ask your doctor.
What is the difference between inpatient and observation?
An inpatient has been formally admitted by a doctor’s order. A patient under observation is an outpatient, even after a night in a hospital bed. Medicare pays for the two differently, and observation days do not count toward the hospital stay Medicare requires before it covers skilled nursing facility care. Ask the staff which one you are.
Can a hospital refuse emergency care if I cannot pay?
Hospitals with an emergency department that take Medicare must give a medical screening exam and stabilizing treatment for an emergency, whether or not the person can pay (federal EMTALA law). You may still receive a bill afterward.
Sources
- Medicare Care Compare (Medicare.gov)
- Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating (CMS QualityNet)
- HCAHPS hospital patient survey (CMS)
- Inpatient hospital care: what Medicare covers (Medicare.gov)
- Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) (CMS)
- Financial assistance policies of tax-exempt hospitals (IRS)
- Quality Improvement Organizations (CMS QIO Program)
- Questions to ask your doctor (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
- Medicare.gov in Spanish
Written in plain language by US Patient Guide from the official sources above, November 2, 2026. The facts on each provider page come from the official data shown on that page, with its date. Not medical advice.