10 MD Hospitals Among Best In U.S. In New Forbes Ranking

Forbes unveiled its first-ever Top Hospitals List and Rankings for 2026 recently, and 10 Maryland hospitals are among the best in the United States.

For its inaugural report, Forbes evaluated nearly 5,400 general acute care hospitals listed in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Provider Data Catalog based on their performance across 56 reported hospital quality measures.

The 56 selected measures were grouped into four categories with different weights: outcomes (55 percent of the weight), best practices (20 percent), value (15 percent) and patient experience (10 percent).

MedStar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore was ranked at the top of the list of best hospitals in Maryland, with an overall five-star ranking. The hospital has a five-star ranking for outcomes and three-star rankings for best practices, value and patient experience.

"Navigating the healthcare system can be daunting. Managing referrals, red tape, complicated treatment protocols and increasing costs become all the more overwhelming when people are at their most vulnerable — facing illness, long-term conditions, or injuries," Forbes senior editor Rachel Rabkin Peachman said.

Other hospitals recognized as the best in Maryland and their overall rankings were:

• MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore: 5 stars
• UPMC Western Maryland, Cumberland: 5 stars
• University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson: 5 stars
• CalvertHealth Medical Center, Prince Frederick: 4 stars
• Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland: 4 stars
• MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, Rosedale: 4 stars
• MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital, Baltimore: 4 stars
• The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore: 4 stars
• University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, Glen Burnie: 4 stars

To produce the Forbes Top Hospitals rating system, researchers enlisted healthcare measurement experts, including an advisory panel comprised of clinicians, scientists, health policy researchers and patient advocates. The magazine also partnered with Inovalon, a healthcare data and analytics firm, to calculate the ratings.

The outcomes were statistically adjusted for social drivers of health, such as socioeconomic and access to medical services.

The ratings were then calculated, and out of 4,601 eligible hospitals, 253 hospitals received an overall rating of five stars, and 509 hospitals received an overall rating of four stars. The stars represented the following percentiles:

1. One star: 1st to 10th percentile
2. Two stars: 11th to 30th percentile
3. Three stars: 31st to 70th percentile
4. Four stars: 71st to 90th percentile
5. Five stars: 91st to 100th percentile

To view the full list of Forbes Top Hospitals, click here.