Familiar hospitals dominated the latest "Best Hospitals" rankings from U.S. News & World Report, which also rolled out several changes this year.
There were a couple of newcomers to the 2026-2027 Honor Roll, which for 4 years now, has been ranked alphabetically instead of ordinally. Mayo Clinic–Florida in Jacksonville joined its counterparts in Minnesota and Arizona on the list, and UC San Diego Health made a return after being absent last year.
U.S. News made some changes to the rankings this year, notably by increasing the statistical weight of risk-adjusted patient outcome measures like survival and complication rates, as well as four new regional specialty rankings in cancer; cardiology, heart and vascular surgery; orthopedics; and rehabilitation.
"For nearly four decades, U.S. News has helped families and their medical providers navigate complex healthcare decisions," Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, said in a statement. "Because most patients choose providers close to home, this year's debut of regional specialty rankings ... gives them an easy new way to evaluate their local options in consultation with their medical providers."
In recent years, U.S. News has continued to make updates and changes to its "Best Hospitals" rankings after a 2023 shakeup around several rankings, including those for hospitals and medical schools.
