P&P, Paid & Penalized

Public Medicare data, made visible.

HospitalNorthwest Hills Surgical Hospital Estimated FY2026 net: −$17K×

Hospital record · FY2026CCN 450808

1Hospital

Northwest Hills Surgical Hospital

2Location

Austin, TX (Texas’s hospitals on the map and in the table) 78731

Travis County

3Type

Not a teaching hospital · 8 beds · Nonprofit · Urban

4Care Compare stars

Not Available

Overall rating, CMS Care Compare data of July 22, 2026
CMS footnote 16: There are too few measures or measure groups reported to calculate a star rating or measure group score.
Open on Care Compare (opens in a new tab)

5Total HAC Score

0.8824

As CMS reports it

6Payment reduction

1% cut
CMS’s value: Yes

7Estimated cut

$17K estimate
Likely $13⁠–⁠21K; about $281 per traditional Medicare stay

Cut 1%

$17K

cut from its FY2026 Medicare inpatient payments, this site estimates estimate

For fiscal year 2026, CMS reports a Total HAC Score of 0.8824 for Northwest Hills Surgical Hospital and a payment reduction decision of Yes.

That is 1% of about $1.7M, this site’s estimate of what traditional Medicare pays it for inpatient stays in a year: about $281 per traditional Medicare stay.

Likely range $13–21K

Its score was above CMS’s line, so CMS cut its Medicare inpatient payments by 1% for the year. The score compares hospitals with each other; it is not a grade of the quality of care.

CMS cut scores of 0.3799 and above.

Each year CMS cuts the hospitals with the highest quarter of scores, those above the 75th percentile, so the line moves with other hospitals’ scores.

lowest −1.4728 1% cut Middle hospital: −0.0453 Middle hospital−0.0453 CMS’s line: 0.3799 and up CMS’s line0.3799 and up This hospital: 0.8824 This hospital 0.8824 lowest −1.4728 highest 2.3133 1% cut Middle hospital: −0.0453 Middle hospital−0.0453 CMS’s line: 0.3799 and up CMS’s line0.3799 and up This hospital: 0.8824 This hospital 0.8824

Higher than 91% of the other 2,928 scores CMS published (higher is worse).

Its record, fiscal years 2015 to 2026 Cut in 1 of 11 years

  1. 15No
  2. 16No
  3. 17No
  4. 18No
  5. 19No
  6. 20No
  7. 21No
  8. 22No
  9. 23—
  10. 24No
  11. 25No
  12. 26Cut

Where the score came from

CMS scored this hospital on 2 of the 6 measures. On every measure a lower value is better. Each row puts the hospital among every hospital with a value: the gray columns are those hospitals, the tall tick is the national median, and the hatched ends score the same as CMS’s floor or cap.

None of the measures CMS scored it on is above the national median, so no single measure at the median would lower its score.

Figure 1. This hospital has a published value for one measure, PSI 90, and it is at or below the national median.
  • This hospital
  • National median
  • Scores the same as CMS’s floor or cap
  1. PSI 90 (what it counts)

    Safety problems such as serious bedsores, falls that break a bone and blood clots after surgery, found by CMS in traditional Medicare claims. A value of 1 matches the national composite value.

    Patient safety and adverse events composite

    Better than 63% of the other 2,808 hospitals

    estimate

    This site recomputes this measure’s z‑score from CMS’s published value. The recompute can differ from CMS’s z‑score by up to 0.0021. How this site estimates

    CMS value0.9302

    Z-score−0.4069

    Part of score−0.2035

  2. CLABSI (what it counts)

    Bloodstream infections tied to a central line, a tube often placed in a large vein in the neck, chest or groin. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.

    Central line–associated bloodstream infections

    Not scored on this measure

    CMS footnote 13: Results cannot be calculated for this reporting period.

    CMS footnote 5: Results are not available for this reporting period.

    CMS valueno value published

    Z-scoreno value published

    Part of scoreno value published

  3. CAUTI (what it counts)

    Urinary tract infections that start from a urinary catheter, a tube that drains the bladder. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.

    Catheter-associated urinary tract infections

    Not scored on this measure

    CMS footnote 13: Results cannot be calculated for this reporting period.

    CMS footnote 5: Results are not available for this reporting period.

    CMS valueno value published

    Z-scoreno value published

    Part of scoreno value published

  4. SSI (what it counts)

    Deep infections at the site of colon surgery or an abdominal hysterectomy, within a month of the operation, pooled into one measure. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.

    Surgical site infections after colon surgery or abdominal hysterectomy

    CMS assigned this measure its worst possible score under the program’s rules; it is not a measured result. CMS’s footnote gives the reason.

    CMS footnote 18: This result is not based on performance data; the hospital did not submit data and did not submit an HAI exemption form.

    CMS valueno value published

    Z-score2.1717

    Part of score+1.0859

  5. CDI (what it counts)

    C. diff infections, which cause diarrhea and inflammation of the colon, found by a lab test and starting in the hospital. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.

    Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections

    Not scored on this measure

    CMS footnote 13: Results cannot be calculated for this reporting period.

    CMS footnote 5: Results are not available for this reporting period.

    CMS valueno value published

    Z-scoreno value published

    Part of scoreno value published

  6. MRSA (what it counts)

    Bloodstream infections with MRSA, a germ that resists several antibiotics, found by a lab test and starting in the hospital. Hospitals report them to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. A value of 1.0 means as many infections as the CDC’s model predicted.

    MRSA bloodstream infections

    Not scored on this measure

    CMS footnote 13: Results cannot be calculated for this reporting period.

    CMS footnote 5: Results are not available for this reporting period.

    CMS valueno value published

    Z-scoreno value published

    Part of scoreno value published

Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table
MeasureCMS valueNational medianZ-scorePart of the scoreAmong hospitals
PSI 900.93020.9623−0.4069−0.2035Better than 63% of the other 2,808 hospitals
CLABSIno value published0.559no value publishedno value publishedNot scored on this measure
CAUTIno value published0.489no value publishedno value publishedNot scored on this measure
SSIno value published0.7952.1717+1.0859
CDIno value published0.346no value publishedno value publishedNot scored on this measure
MRSAno value published0.641no value publishedno value publishedNot scored on this measure

How the parts add up

CMS adds the z‑scores and divides by the number of measures scored, so each measure counts the same. Each bar below is one z‑score divided by 2; a bar right of zero raised the score and one left of zero lowered it.

(−0.4069PSI 90+2.1717SSI)÷2measures=0.8824Total HAC Score

This hospital’s score is 0.5032 above 0.3792, the highest score CMS marked No. (This site recomputes.)

Figure 2. The parts add up to 0.8824, above CMS’s line.
1% cut PSI 90: z‑score −0.4069 divided by 2 = −0.2035PSI 90−0.2035 SSI: z‑score 2.1717 divided by 2 = +1.0859SSI+1.0859 Total HAC Score: 0.8824Score0.8824 CMS’s line: between 0.3792 and 0.3799 CMS’s line −0.20.00.20.40.60.81.0 1% cut PSI 90: z‑score −0.4069 divided by 2 = −0.2035PSI 90−0.2035 SSI: z‑score 2.1717 divided by 2 = +1.0859SSI+1.0859 Total HAC Score: 0.8824Score0.8824 CMS’s line: between 0.3792 and 0.3799 CMS’s line −0.20.00.20.40.60.81.0

This site recomputes · Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table
MeasureZ-scorePart of the scoreRunning total
PSI 90−0.4069−0.2035−0.2035
SSI2.1717+1.08590.8824
Total HAC Score0.8824
CMS’s line0.37920.3799

The money is a cliff

This program’s cut doesn’t grow with the score. Over CMS’s line, CMS cuts 1% of what traditional Medicare pays a hospital for inpatient stays that year; at or under the line, this program cuts nothing.

The chart draws what the cut would be for this hospital at any Total HAC Score, from this site’s estimate of its payments, with its own score marked.

Figure 3. The cut is a cliff, not a slope: this hospital’s score, 0.5032 over the highest score CMS didn’t cut, costs it about $17K by this site’s estimate, and at CMS’s highest score, 2.3133, the cut would be the same.
CMS’s line $0 at any score up to 0.3792 $17K at any score from 0.3799 $0at any score up to 0.3792 $17K at any score from 0.3799 −1012 CMS’s highest score: 2.3133 This hospital: 0.8824 This hospital 0.8824 CMS’s line $0 at any score up to 0.3792 $17K at any score from 0.3799 $0at any score up to 0.3792 $17Kat any score from 0.3799 −1.0−0.50.00.51.01.52.0 CMS’s highest score: 2.3133 CMS’s highest score 2.3133 This hospital: 0.8824 This hospital 0.8824

Under the axis, every Total HAC Score CMS published: 306 of the 2,929 scored within 0.1 of CMS’s line, on one side or the other.

Estimate · Source: this site’s arithmetic on CMS’s FY2026 IPPS final rule files (the impact file, the rate tables and the value-based factors), its FY2026 HRRP supplemental file and HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table
ScoreTotal HAC ScoreEstimated HAC cut (whole dollars)
Any score up to 0.37920.3792$0
Any score from 0.37990.3799−$17,124
This hospital0.8824−$17,124
CMS’s highest score2.3133−$17,124

The money, line by line

This site estimates what traditional Medicare pays the hospital for a year of inpatient stays, from CMS’s FY2026 payment files, then applies Medicare’s three hospital quality programs: the readmissions and value-based adjustments to the base payment, and the HAC cut last, as the law sets.

The readmissions and value-based programs adjust only the base payment: the DRG rates times the hospital’s cases, and a Medicare-dependent hospital’s add-on. The HAC cut comes last and takes 1% of everything left, teaching, low-income-patient, outlier, capital and uncompensated care payments included.

($1,712,377payment+$0readmissions+$0value-based)×1%the cut=$17,124HAC cut

$17,124HAC cut÷61traditional Medicare stays=$281per traditional Medicare stay

Figure 4. This site estimates the HAC cut at $17K: 1% of the hospital’s whole inpatient payment, taken last. The readmissions and value-based adjustments, on the base alone, came to $0 and $0.

Estimated Medicare inpatient payments · FY2026 estimate

What traditional Medicare pays it for inpatient stays
DRG payments at the federal rates the base $1,531,003
Outliers: unusually costly stays $58,423
Capital: buildings and equipment $122,951
Total, before the three programs $1,712,377
The three programs: two on the base, the HAC cut last
Readmissions (HRRP) base × (1.0000 − 1) $0
Value-based purchasing (HVBP) not in CMS’s value-based factors: no adjustment $0
After these two $1,712,377
HAC Reduction Program 1% of everything above; likely $13⁠–⁠21K −$17,124
Net of the three programs likely −$22K to −$12K −$17,124

Not paid to this hospital: a Medicare-dependent hospital add-on, teaching payments, low-income-patient payments, a sole community hospital rate difference, a low-volume adjustment, and uncompensated care payments.

Whole dollars, so every line adds up; the estimate is not that precise. Each likely range spans the middle 80% of the misses this site’s estimate made for similar hospitals (or for a wider group, where there were too few) when it was checked against their FY2024 cost reports: one year’s check, not a promise of how often a hospital’s actual figure lands inside.

Estimate · Source: this site’s arithmetic on CMS’s FY2026 IPPS final rule files (the impact file, the rate tables and the value-based factors), its FY2026 HRRP supplemental file and HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table
LineAmount (whole dollars)
DRG payments at the federal rates (the base)$1,531,003
Outliers: unusually costly stays$58,423
Capital: buildings and equipment$122,951
Total, before the three programs$1,712,377
Readmissions (HRRP) (base × (1.0000 − 1))$0
Value-based purchasing (HVBP) (not in CMS’s value-based factors: no adjustment)$0
After these two$1,712,377
HAC Reduction Program (1% of everything above; likely $13–21K)−$17,124
Net of the three programs (likely −$22K to −$12K)−$17,124

What if a measure were different?

Change a measure’s value to see how this site recomputes the Total HAC Score, the payment reduction decision and, by its estimate, the money, starting from CMS’s values. The money doesn’t slide with the score: it drops off a cliff at CMS’s line.

The what-if needs JavaScript. Without it, the values below stay as they are.

Show table
CMS reportsHypothetical
Total HAC Score0.8824same
Payment reduction decisionYessame
Payment cut1%same
Estimated HAC cut estimate$17Ksame

CMS’s line: between 0.3792 and 0.3799

The faint ticks are CMS’s line in earlier years under the same formula, from about 0.300 (FY2022) to about 0.375 (FY2024). The line moves every year, so a hospital can cross it without changing anything.

CMS reports a Total HAC Score of 0.8824 and a payment reduction decision of Yes.

A what-if shows the formula’s arithmetic, not what a hospital could realistically change or how. CMS’s real result also depends on other hospitals.

What would it take?

Getting under CMS’s line would keep about $17K, this site estimates: the whole cut, however far under the score lands.

From CMS’s values, one measure at a time, with every other measure held at CMS’s value.

MeasureValue that would read NoNote
PSI 900.7859 or lower
SSICMS assigned this measure’s score, so there is no submitted value to solve for.

Each measure weighs 1 ÷ 2 of the score.

Measure values

SIR 1.0 = as many infections as predicted · Lower is better

On each track the tick is the national median; shaded values score the same as the floor or cap, as this site fits them to CMS’s values.

CMS 0.9302 · median 0.9623 · floor 0.7760 · cap 1.3482 · each 0.1 = 0.3491

median 0.795 · cap 2.118 · each 0.1 = 0.0857

CMS assigned this measure’s score; CMS’s footnote in the table above gives the reason. Enter a value to see the score had it been submitted.

Figure 5. Each bar is one measure’s part of this hospital’s Total HAC Score of 0.8824: its z‑score divided by 2, the number of measures scored.
  • PSI 90 −0.2035
  • SSI (assigned by CMS) +1.0859

A measure adds its z‑score divided by 2, the number of measures scored. Bars right of the center line raise the score. Hatched: assigned by CMS.

This site recomputes · Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table
MeasureZ-scorePart of the scoreHypothetical
PSI 90−0.4069−0.2035same
SSI, assigned2.1717+1.0859same

Interactive what-if at https://paidandpenalized.org/hacrp/hospital/450808/

Among hospitals with a Yes or No payment decision, CMS cut those with a published Total HAC Score of 0.3799 or higher and none at 0.3792 or lower. Maryland’s hospitals are scored but not subject to the reduction.

Held fixed: every other hospital’s results, CMS’s line, and each measure’s mean, spread, floor and cap as this site fits them to CMS’s published values.

Year by year

Where this hospital’s score fell among every hospital’s, each year CMS published one. A score near the top is among the highest; the shaded band is where CMS cut. Places compare across years even where CMS changed how it builds the score.

Figure 6. CMS cut this hospital in 1 of the 11 years it made a decision.
highest middle lowest z‑scoresequal weights no scores FY2015: score 5.0000, higher than 40% of scores; not cutFY2016: score 5.0000, higher than 38% of scores; not cutFY2017: score 5.0000, higher than 41% of scores; not cutFY2018: score −0.6962, higher than 13% of scores; not cutFY2019: score −0.6456, higher than 16% of scores; not cutFY2020: score −0.6500, higher than 14% of scores; not cutFY2021: score −0.5815, higher than 16% of scores; not cutFY2022: score −0.4150, higher than 24% of scores; not cutFY2024: score −0.4449, higher than 22% of scores; not cutFY2025: score −0.5444, higher than 18% of scores; not cutFY2026: score 0.8824, higher than 91% of scores; cut 161820222426 highest middle lowest z‑scoresequal weights no scores FY2015: score 5.0000, higher than 40% of scores; not cutFY2016: score 5.0000, higher than 38% of scores; not cutFY2017: score 5.0000, higher than 41% of scores; not cutFY2018: score −0.6962, higher than 13% of scores; not cutFY2019: score −0.6456, higher than 16% of scores; not cutFY2020: score −0.6500, higher than 14% of scores; not cutFY2021: score −0.5815, higher than 16% of scores; not cutFY2022: score −0.4150, higher than 24% of scores; not cutFY2024: score −0.4449, higher than 22% of scores; not cutFY2025: score −0.5444, higher than 18% of scores; not cutFY2026: score 0.8824, higher than 91% of scores; cut 151617181920212223242526

● Red: a year CMS cut it ○ Hollow: a year it didn’t

This site recomputes · Source: CMS, HACRP hospital files for fiscal years 2015 to 2026 (Provider Data Catalog, its archives and, for the oldest years, the Internet Archive’s copies), and CMS’s cut lists for FY2015 and FY2016.

Show table
Fiscal yearTotal HAC ScoreHigher than this share of scoresPayment reduction
FY20155.000040.4%not cut
FY20165.000038.0%not cut
FY20175.000041.8%not cut
FY2018−0.696213.8%not cut
FY2019−0.645616.5%not cut
FY2020−0.650014.4%not cut
FY2021−0.581516.5%not cut
FY2022−0.415024.2%not cut
FY2023no decision
FY2024−0.444922.6%not cut
FY2025−0.544418.1%not cut
FY20260.882491.8%cut

Among hospitals like it

Each row is a group this hospital belongs to, drawn from every hospital in it with a payment decision. Red columns are hospitals past CMS’s line, the ones CMS cut; the short tick is the group’s middle score.

In Texas, its score is higher than 94% of the other 254 scored there.

In Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area, its score is higher than 100% of the other 17 scored there.

Figure 7. Its score is above the middle in all 8 groups it belongs to; the share cut runs from 6% (Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area) to 28% (Fewer than 100 beds).
All hospitals: CMS cut 718 of 2,886 (25%); middle score −0.0453All hospitals 2,886 hospitals25% cut South region: CMS cut 263 of 1,174 (22%); middle score −0.1056South region 1,174 hospitals22% cut Texas: CMS cut 32 of 255 (13%); middle score −0.2368Texas 255 hospitals13% cut Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area: CMS cut 1 of 18 (6%); middle score −0.3001Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area18 hospitals6% cut Not teaching: CMS cut 389 of 1,563 (25%); middle score −0.1053Not teaching 1,563 hospitals25% cut Fewer than 100 beds: CMS cut 225 of 805 (28%); middle score −0.1154Fewer than 100 beds 805 hospitals28% cut Nonprofit: CMS cut 478 of 1,830 (26%); middle score −0.0134Nonprofit 1,830 hospitals26% cut Urban: CMS cut 510 of 2,241 (23%); middle score −0.0574Urban 2,241 hospitals23% cut CMS’s line: between 0.3792 and 0.3799 CMS’s line −1012 This hospital: 0.8824 This hospital 0.8824 All hospitals: CMS cut 718 of 2,886 (25%); middle score −0.0453All hospitals2,886 hospitals25% cut South region: CMS cut 263 of 1,174 (22%); middle score −0.1056South region1,174 hospitals22% cut Texas: CMS cut 32 of 255 (13%); middle score −0.2368Texas255 hospitals13% cut Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area: CMS cut 1 of 18 (6%); middle score −0.3001Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area18 hospitals6% cut Not teaching: CMS cut 389 of 1,563 (25%); middle score −0.1053Not teaching1,563 hospitals25% cut Fewer than 100 beds: CMS cut 225 of 805 (28%); middle score −0.1154Fewer than 100 beds805 hospitals28% cut Nonprofit: CMS cut 478 of 1,830 (26%); middle score −0.0134Nonprofit1,830 hospitals26% cut Urban: CMS cut 510 of 2,241 (23%); middle score −0.0574Urban2,241 hospitals23% cut CMS’s line: between 0.3792 and 0.3799 CMS’s line −1.5−1.0−0.50.00.51.01.52.0 This hospital: 0.8824 This hospital 0.8824

Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table
GroupWith a decisionHospitals cutShare cutMiddle scoreHospital higher than
All hospitals2,88671825%−0.045391%
South region1,17426322%−0.105691%
Texas2553213%−0.236894%
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area1816%−0.3001100%
Not teaching1,56338925%−0.105389%
Fewer than 100 beds80522528%−0.115484%
Nonprofit1,83047826%−0.013492%
Urban2,24151023%−0.057493%
This hospital0.8824
CMS’s line0.37920.3799

The nearest hospitals

The 8 closest hospitals with a Total HAC Score, in a straight line. The squares are each hospital’s measures in order: filled, above the national median; open, at or below it; hatched, assigned by CMS; blank, not scored.

Figure 8. CMS cut none of the 8 nearest hospitals; the closest is 3 miles away.
5 mi8. Baylor Scott & White Medical Center- Austin, Austin: score 0.1196, not cut, 9 miles87. St David's South Austin Medical Center, Austin: score −0.1688, not cut, 9 miles76. The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center, Austin: score −0.5845, not cut, 6 miles65. Dell Seton Med Center at the University of TX, Austin: score 0.3109, not cut, 5 miles54. North Austin Medical Center, Austin: score −0.5211, not cut, 5 miles43. St David's Medical Center, Austin: score 0.1673, not cut, 4 miles32. Ascension Seton Northwest, Austin: score −0.9387, not cut, 4 miles21. Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin, Austin: score −0.5209, not cut, 3 miles1This hospital: Northwest Hills Surgical Hospital

Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.

Show table
HospitalMilesScoreDecision
Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin, Austin, TX3−0.5209not cut
Ascension Seton Northwest, Austin, TX4−0.9387not cut
St David's Medical Center, Austin, TX40.1673not cut
North Austin Medical Center, Austin, TX5−0.5211not cut
Dell Seton Med Center at the University of TX, Austin, TX50.3109not cut
The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center, Austin, TX6−0.5845not cut
St David's South Austin Medical Center, Austin, TX9−0.1688not cut
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center- Austin, Austin, TX90.1196not cut

#HospitalMilesScoreDecisionEst. cut ($, modeled)Measures
1Ascension Seton Medical Center AustinAustin, TX3−0.5209No cut$0Above the national median on 3 of 6 measures
2Ascension Seton NorthwestAustin, TX4−0.9387No cut$0Above the national median on 1 of 5 measures
3St David's Medical CenterAustin, TX40.1673No cut$0Above the national median on 5 of 6 measures
4North Austin Medical CenterAustin, TX5−0.5211No cut$0Above the national median on 1 of 6 measures
5Dell Seton Med Center at the University of TXAustin, TX50.3109No cut$0Above the national median on 4 of 6 measures
6The Hospital at Westlake Medical CenterAustin, TX6−0.5845No cut$0Above the national median on 0 of 1 measures
7St David's South Austin Medical CenterAustin, TX9−0.1688No cut$0Above the national median on 3 of 6 measures
8Baylor Scott & White Medical Center- AustinAustin, TX90.1196No cut$0Above the national median on 2 of 3 measures

Download all hospitals’ data (CSV) · Data dictionary · CMS’s dataset page

CMS’s footnotes on this page

13
Results cannot be calculated for this reporting period.
5
Results are not available for this reporting period.
18
This result is not based on performance data; the hospital did not submit data and did not submit an HAI exemption form.

How the program works, and how to find another hospital

A penalty reflects how CMS’s formula scored relative performance; it is not a verdict on the quality of care.

Cite this page

Paid & Penalized. Northwest Hills Surgical Hospital, Austin, TX: Hospital-Acquired Conditions, FY2026. https://paidandpenalized.org/hacrp/hospital/450808/. Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.