When U.S. News & World Report released its annual list of “Best Hospitals” last week Mayo Clinic Arizona once again topped the state rankings.
U.S. News Announces 2025-2026 Best Hospitals | Press Room | U.S. News
Before you draw conclusions that they’re really the best – let’s explore what these rankings actually measure and what they don’t.
U.S. News uses a scoring system that focuses on high-end specialty care. Hospitals are rated on their performance in 16 high-end medical & surgical specialties (e.g. cancer, heart surgery, neurology) and in 21 specific technical procedures. They also survey board-certified physicians to assess hospitals’ reputation in complex specialty care.
That might sound comprehensive, but it misses the mark when it comes to public health, especially low-income and Medicaid populations.
Here’s why:
- Access to Care Isn’t Considered: U.S. News doesn’t measure whether low-income patients can actually get an appointment or whether they accept Medicaid members.
- Medicaid & Safety-Net Care Aren’t Measured: The rankings don’t ask how many Medicaid patients a hospital serves, or how much charity care it provides (if any).
- Specialty Procedure Weighting: By putting the most emphasis on advanced specialty services, the rankings favor referral centers like Mayo that primarily serve patients with Medicare or private insurance.
- ·Patient Mix Matters: Safety-net hospitals (like Valleywise Health) care for poorer and sicker patients with fewer resources.
That’s why it’s so important not to confuse the U.S. News rankings with measures of actual public health & overall community benefit.
In other words. if your question is: “Which hospital provides the best high end specialty care for patients with comprehensive private health insurance” then the rankings give you an answer.
But if you want to know which hospitals do the most for public health and Arizona’s behavioral health and underserved communities, the US News and World Report is the wrong metric.
Note: Mayo Clinic in Arizona only accepts Medicaid coverage for transplant services and only if AHCCCS pre-authorizes the procedure.
To look at public health and community benefit you’d need to look toward hospitals that focus on underserved populations with the greatest health burdens like Valleywise Health does.
From the Diane & Bruce Halle Arizona Burn Center to its extensive behavioral health programs, Valleywise stands out as the backbone of our safety-net healthcare system, providing the kinds of services like inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care and first episode centers that other hospitals aren’t interested in providing.
And that’s exactly why Proposition 409 on the Maricopa County ballot this fall is so critical. It’ll provide much-needed investment in Valleywise Health facilities, ensuring continued care for those who need it most, including those struggling with serious mental illness, and providing the kind of care that really builds community benefit.
It’s fine to recognize excellence in high end specialty care for people with gold plated health insurance, I have no problem with that… but let’s keep our focus on what matters most for public health – robust and accessible primary and acute care and services like inpatient and outpatient mental health care and other safety net services.
