Hospital record · FY2026CCN 470024

1Hospital

Northwestern Medical Center Inc

2Location

Saint Albans, VT (Vermont’s hospitals on the map and in the table) 05478

Franklin County

3Type

Not a teaching hospital · 70 beds · Nonprofit · Urban · Sole community hospital

4Care Compare stars

4 of 5 stars

Overall rating, CMS Care Compare data of July 22, 2026
Open on Care Compare (opens in a new tab)

5Total HAC Score

1.0663

As CMS reports it

6Payment reduction

1% cut

CMS’s value: Yes

7Estimated cut

$140K estimate

Likely $100⁠–⁠157K; about $168 per traditional Medicare stay

Cut 1%

$140K

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

For fiscal year 2026, CMS reports a Total HAC Score of 1.0663 for Northwestern Medical Center Inc and a payment reduction decision of Yes.

That is 1% of about $14.0M, this site’s estimate of what traditional Medicare pays it for inpatient stays in a year: about $168 per traditional Medicare stay.

Likely range $100–157K

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.

Higher than 95% of the other 2,928 scores CMS published (higher is worse).

Its record, fiscal years 2015 to 2026 Cut in 9 of 11 years

15No
16Cut
17Cut
18Cut
19Cut
20Cut
21Cut
22Cut
23—
24No
25Cut
26Cut

Where the score came from

CMS scored this hospital on 4 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.

Bringing CAUTI down to the national median (0.489) would lower the score the most: by 0.5104, to 0.5559. Try it in the what-if

Figure 1. Of its 4 measures with a value, this hospital is above the national median on 4; CAUTI added the most to its score.

This hospital
National median
Scores the same as CMS’s floor or cap

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
Worse than 89% 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 value1.1866

Z-score1.3834

Part of score+0.3459
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
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.
added the most
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections
Worse than 92% of the other 2,354 hospitals

CMS value1.336

Z-score1.9018

Part of score+0.4755
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
Worse than 60% of the other 2,269 hospitals

CMS value0.940

Z-score0.1537

Part of score+0.0384
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
Worse than 80% of the other 2,766 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 0.0071. How this site estimates

CMS value0.591

Z-score0.8262

Part of score+0.2066
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

Measure	CMS value	National median	Z-score	Part of the score	Among hospitals
PSI 90	1.1866	0.9623	1.3834	+0.3459	Worse than 89% of the other 2,808 hospitals
CLABSI	no value published	0.559	no value published	no value published	Not scored on this measure
CAUTI	1.336	0.489	1.9018	+0.4755	Worse than 92% of the other 2,354 hospitals
SSI	0.940	0.795	0.1537	+0.0384	Worse than 60% of the other 2,269 hospitals
CDI	0.591	0.346	0.8262	+0.2066	Worse than 80% of the other 2,766 hospitals
MRSA	no value published	0.641	no value published	no value published	Not 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 4; a bar right of zero raised the score and one left of zero lowered it.

(1.3834PSI 90+1.9018CAUTI+0.1537SSI+0.8262CDI)÷4measures=1.0663Total HAC Score

This hospital’s score is 0.6871 above 0.3792, the highest score CMS marked No. (This site recomputes.)

Figure 2. The parts add up to 1.0663, above CMS’s line.

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

Show table

Measure	Z-score	Part of the score	Running total
PSI 90	1.3834	+0.3459	0.3459
CAUTI	1.9018	+0.4755	0.8214
SSI	0.1537	+0.0384	0.8598
CDI	0.8262	+0.2066	1.0664
Total HAC Score			1.0663
CMS’s line		0.3792	0.3799

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, 0.6871 over the highest score CMS didn’t cut, costs it about $140K by this site’s estimate, and at CMS’s highest score, 2.3133, the cut would be the same.

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

Score	Total HAC Score	Estimated HAC cut (whole dollars)
Any score up to 0.3792	0.3792	$0
Any score from 0.3799	0.3799	−$140,262
This hospital	1.0663	−$140,262
CMS’s highest score	2.3133	−$140,262

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.

($13,918,452payment−$746readmissions+$108,447value-based)×1%the cut=$140,262HAC cut

$140,262HAC cut÷833traditional Medicare stays=$168per traditional Medicare stay

Figure 4. This site estimates the HAC cut at $140K: 1% of the hospital’s whole inpatient payment, taken last. The readmissions and value-based adjustments, on the base alone, came to −$746 and +$108K.

Estimated Medicare inpatient payments · FY2026 estimate

What traditional Medicare pays it for inpatient stays
DRG payments at the federal rates the base	$7,459,803
Many low-income patients (disproportionate share)	$223,794
Outliers: unusually costly stays	$404,620
Sole community hospital rate difference	$3,817,922
Low-volume adjustment	$1,419,404
Capital: buildings and equipment	$592,909
Total, before the three programs	$13,918,452
The three programs: two on the base, the HAC cut last
Readmissions (HRRP) base × (0.9999 − 1)	−$746
Value-based purchasing (HVBP) base × (1.0145 − 1)	+$108,447
After these two	$14,026,153
HAC Reduction Program 1% of everything above; likely $100⁠–⁠157K	−$140,262
Net of the three programs likely −$34K to −$23K	−$32,561

Not paid to this hospital: a Medicare-dependent hospital add-on, teaching payments, 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.

Show table

Line	Amount (whole dollars)
DRG payments at the federal rates (the base)	$7,459,803
Many low-income patients (disproportionate share)	$223,794
Outliers: unusually costly stays	$404,620
Sole community hospital rate difference	$3,817,922
Low-volume adjustment	$1,419,404
Capital: buildings and equipment	$592,909
Total, before the three programs	$13,918,452
Readmissions (HRRP) (base × (0.9999 − 1))	−$746
Value-based purchasing (HVBP) (base × (1.0145 − 1))	+$108,447
After these two	$14,026,153
HAC Reduction Program (1% of everything above; likely $100–157K)	−$140,262
Net of the three programs (likely −$34K to −$23K)	−$32,561

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 reports	Hypothetical
Total HAC Score	1.0663	same
Payment reduction decision	Yes	same
Payment cut	1%	same
Estimated HAC cut estimate	$140K	same

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 1.0663 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 $140K, 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.

Measure	Value that would read No
PSI 90	0.7928 or lower
CAUTI	0.195 or lower
SSI	not possible with this measure alone
CDI	not possible with this measure alone

Each measure weighs 1 ÷ 4 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.

Patient safety and adverse events composite PSI 90

PSI 90 value

CMS 1.1866 · median 0.9623 · floor 0.7760 · cap 1.3482 · each 0.1 = 0.1745

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections CAUTI

CAUTI value

CMS 1.336 · median 0.489 · cap 1.537 · each 0.1 = 0.0603

Surgical site infections after colon surgery or abdominal hysterectomy SSI

SSI value

CMS 0.940 · median 0.795 · cap 2.118 · each 0.1 = 0.0428

Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections CDI

CDI value

CMS 0.591 · median 0.346 · cap 0.944 · each 0.1 = 0.0968

Have your NHSN predicted counts? (optional, stays in your browser)

Stays in your browser; never sent.

Optional: your NHSN predicted infections for CAUTI, January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024

Optional: your NHSN predicted infections for SSI, January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024

Optional: your NHSN predicted infections for CDI, January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024

Figure 5. CAUTI added the most to this hospital’s Total HAC Score of 1.0663 among its measured results: +0.4755.

PSI 90 +0.3459
CAUTI +0.4755
SSI +0.0384
CDI +0.2066

A measure adds its z‑score divided by 4, 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

Measure	Z-score	Part of the score	Hypothetical
PSI 90	1.3834	+0.3459	same
CAUTI	1.9018	+0.4755	same
SSI	0.1537	+0.0384	same
CDI	0.8262	+0.2066	same

Interactive what-if at https://paidandpenalized.org/hacrp/hospital/470024/

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.

Its longest run: cut 7 years in a row.

Figure 6. CMS cut this hospital in 9 of the 11 years it made a decision.

● 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.

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Fiscal year	Total HAC Score	Higher than this share of scores	Payment reduction
FY2015	7.0000	73.6%	not cut
FY2016	7.7500	86.8%	cut
FY2017	9.2750	98.4%	cut
FY2018	0.7143	88.6%	cut
FY2019	0.8924	92.9%	cut
FY2020	0.4825	82.3%	cut
FY2021	1.5125	99.0%	cut
FY2022	1.7586	99.3%	cut
FY2023			no decision
FY2024	−0.2892	32.4%	not cut
FY2025	0.4408	79.0%	cut
FY2026	1.0663	95.1%	cut

Its infections, year by year

This hospital’s infection rate against prediction for each calendar year Care Compare published one, on each measure with at least two years of results (black), over the nation’s middle hospital (gray). Below the dashed line at one, fewer infections than predicted. Each year is measured against the same fixed baseline, not against other hospitals, so unlike the score they can all improve at once.

Figure 7. 2 of its 2 infection measures ended lower than they started.

Source: CMS Care Compare, healthcare-associated infections by hospital, calendar years 2017 to 2024 (Provider Data Catalog archives; the oldest year through the Internet Archive’s copy).

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Calendar year	CAUTI	C. diff
2017	3.820	0.459
2018		0.302
2019		0.906
2021	1.552	0.782
2022	0.000	0.198
2023	0.793	1.176
2024		0.148

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 Vermont, its score is higher than 60% of the other 5 scored there.

Figure 8. Its score is above the middle in all 7 groups it belongs to; the share cut runs from 23% (Urban) to 67% (Vermont).

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

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Group	With a decision	Hospitals cut	Share cut	Middle score	Hospital higher than
All hospitals	2,886	718	25%	−0.0453	95%
Northeast region	436	124	28%	0.0478	95%
Vermont	6	4	67%	1.0510	60%
Not teaching	1,563	389	25%	−0.1053	93%
Fewer than 100 beds	805	225	28%	−0.1154	89%
Nonprofit	1,830	478	26%	−0.0134	96%
Urban	2,241	510	23%	−0.0574	96%
This hospital				1.0663
CMS’s line				0.3792	0.3799

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 9. CMS cut 7 of the 8 nearest hospitals; the closest is 21 miles away.

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

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Hospital	Miles	Score	Decision
The University of Vermont Health Network - Champl, Plattsburgh, NY	21	1.0661	cut
Univ. of Vermont - Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT	23	1.0951	cut
Central Vermont Medical Center, Barre, VT	48	1.3224	cut
Adirondack Medical Center - Saranac Lake, Saranac Lake, NY	62	0.9345	cut
Rutland Regional Medical Center, Rutland, VT	84	1.0356	cut
Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, Lebanon, NH	86	0.4187	cut
Canton-Potsdam Hospital, Potsdam, NY	94	0.8263	cut
Glens Falls Hospital, Glens Falls, NY	107	0.2472	not cut

#	Hospital	Miles	Score	Decision	Est. cut ($, modeled)	Measures
1	The University of Vermont Health Network - ChamplPlattsburgh, NY	21	1.0661	1% cut	$432K	Above the national median on 5 of 6 measures
2	Univ. of Vermont - Fletcher Allen Health CareBurlington, VT	23	1.0951	1% cut	$1.6M	Above the national median on 5 of 6 measures
3	Central Vermont Medical CenterBarre, VT	48	1.3224	1% cut	$323K	Above the national median on 5 of 6 measures
4	Adirondack Medical Center - Saranac LakeSaranac Lake, NY	62	0.9345	1% cut	$139K	Above the national median on 5 of 5 measures
5	Rutland Regional Medical CenterRutland, VT	84	1.0356	1% cut	$314K	Above the national median on 5 of 6 measures
6	Mary Hitchcock Memorial HospitalLebanon, NH	86	0.4187	1% cut	$2.1M	Above the national median on 4 of 6 measures
7	Canton-Potsdam HospitalPotsdam, NY	94	0.8263	1% cut	$155K	Above the national median on 5 of 6 measures
8	Glens Falls HospitalGlens Falls, NY	107	0.2472	No cut	$0	Above the national median on 2 of 6 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.

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. Northwestern Medical Center Inc, Saint Albans, VT: Hospital-Acquired Conditions, FY2026. https://paidandpenalized.org/hacrp/hospital/470024/. Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, HACRP FY2026 (yq43-i98g), released August 13, 2026.