---
title: Atlas Commons research objects — hospital quality surface for North Carolina (2026)
license: CC0-1.0
source: CMS Care Compare (2026)
---

# Atlas Commons research objects — hospital quality surface for North Carolina (2026)

North Carolina's hospital quality data from CMS Care Compare, with each figure's epistemic status labeled so a consuming agent can weight it correctly: measured hospital/subtype/ownership counts; the CMS Overall Star Rating distribution (a model CMS computes, not a direct measurement); the atlas-computed state mean HCAHPS star and median measure comparisons (in-house aggregations CMS does not publish); and the interpretive boundary (these are state aggregates, not a verdict on any one hospital). Source: CMS Care Compare. CC0.

## Claims

### 120 hospitals are listed in North Carolina on CMS Care Compare (2026)

**RECORDED.** CMS Care Compare lists 120 hospitals in North Carolina for 2026; 90 carry an Overall Star Rating and 30 do not. A census of listed hospitals.

Source: CMS Care Compare (2026) — https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/
Falsifier: A RECORD of measured/reported events (occurred=true) from CMS Care Compare (2026); superseded when CMS Care Compare (2026) publishes its next release.

### Hospital counts by CMS facility type in North Carolina (2026): Acute Care Hospitals 80, Critical Access Hospitals 20, Psychiatric 14, Acute Care - Veterans Administration 4

**RECORDED.** Counts of the 120 hospitals by CMS facility type: Acute Care Hospitals 80, Critical Access Hospitals 20, Psychiatric 14, Acute Care - Veterans Administration 4, Acute Care - Department of Defense 2. A count of listed facilities per CMS type.

Source: CMS Care Compare (2026) — https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/
Falsifier: A RECORD of measured/reported events (occurred=true) from CMS Care Compare (2026); superseded when CMS Care Compare (2026) publishes its next release.

### Hospital counts by ownership in North Carolina (2026): Voluntary non-profit - Private 54, Proprietary 18, Government - Hospital District or Authority 15, Government - Local 11

**RECORDED.** Counts of the 120 hospitals by CMS ownership category: Voluntary non-profit - Private 54, Proprietary 18, Government - Hospital District or Authority 15, Government - Local 11, Voluntary non-profit - Other 7, Government - State 6, Veterans Health Administration 4, Department of Defense 2, Government - Federal 2, Voluntary non-profit - Church 1. A count of listed facilities per ownership type.

Source: CMS Care Compare (2026) — https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/
Falsifier: A RECORD of measured/reported events (occurred=true) from CMS Care Compare (2026); superseded when CMS Care Compare (2026) publishes its next release.

### CMS Overall Star Rating distribution for North Carolina hospitals (2026): 5★ 12, 4★ 28, 3★ 29, 2★ 17, 1★ 4

**MODELED.** Counts of the 90 rated hospitals by CMS Overall Star Rating: 5★ 12, 4★ 28, 3★ 29, 2★ 17, 1★ 4. The Overall Star Rating is a LATENT-VARIABLE STATISTICAL MODEL CMS computes by combining measure-group scores — it is NOT a direct measurement; the count by star is mechanical over CMS's published per-hospital ratings.

Source: CMS Care Compare (2026) — https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/
Falsifier: occurred=FALSE: a MODELED figure — an authority's computed quantity ESTIMATING an independent/latent value (an index or annualized expectation), REPRODUCIBLE from its disclosed inputs, NOT a record of an event. adjudged=TRUE because CMS Care Compare (2026) (an external authority) computes and publishes it. The grounding promises "reproduce this from the inputs" — so a categorical authority VERDICT that is NOT reproducible (a star rating, a risk class) is a 'determination', not 'modeled'. Superseded by the next release.

### State mean HCAHPS patient-experience star for North Carolina is 3.36 (a computed average, 2026)

**DERIVED.** The mean of the CMS HCAHPS summary star (patient experience) across rated North Carolina hospitals is 3.36. Each HCAHPS star is a CMS survey-based composite; this STATE MEAN is an in-house aggregation (the atlas computed it), not a CMS-published figure.

Source: CMS Care Compare (2026) — atlas-computed state mean of CMS HCAHPS stars — https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/
Falsifier: occurred=FALSE (a calculation, not an event) and adjudged=FALSE (a transparent in-house formula, not an authority's verdict — no external adjudicator). Reproduce it from its named inputs; falsified if the formula or inputs are wrong. Lower warrant than the adjudged figures above.

### Median North Carolina hospital's measures vs national (2026): 0 better, 13 no different, 0 worse

**DERIVED.** For the median North Carolina hospital, the count of quality measures rated better than / no different from / worse than the national rate is 0 / 13 / 0. The better/worse determination is CMS's risk-adjusted comparison (modeled); the MEDIAN across hospitals is an in-house aggregation, not a CMS-published figure.

Source: CMS Care Compare (2026) — atlas-computed state median of CMS risk-adjusted measure comparisons — https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/
Falsifier: occurred=FALSE (a calculation, not an event) and adjudged=FALSE (a transparent in-house formula, not an authority's verdict — no external adjudicator). Reproduce it from its named inputs; falsified if the formula or inputs are wrong. Lower warrant than the adjudged figures above.

### What these care figures are — and are NOT — for North Carolina (the epistemic boundary)

**INTERPRETATION.** Every figure above is a STATE-LEVEL aggregate over CMS Care Compare: counts of listed hospitals (recorded), the distribution of CMS's MODELED Overall Star Rating (modeled), and atlas-computed state means/medians (derived). They are NOT a verdict on any individual hospital, a measure of outcomes you will personally experience, or a substitute for CMS Care Compare's per-hospital detail. For a specific hospital, use CMS Care Compare directly.

Source: Care Atlas framing (over the CMS Care Compare facts above) — https://care-atlas.ryanjhunter.workers.dev/
Falsifier: occurred=FALSE (a framing, not an event) and adjudged=FALSE (the atlas's reading, not a CMS verdict) — the LOWEST-warrant claim here. The figures above span recorded counts, CMS modeled star ratings, and atlas-derived aggregates; the four-status labels each, and this is the only interpretation.

---

Every claim above carries a four-status warrant (RECORDED / MODELED / DERIVED / INTERPRETATION) and a named source you can re-fetch — this is a research object, not a flat fact. Structured: `https://care-atlas.ryanjhunter.workers.dev/care/states/nc.jsonld`

## Data

### North Carolina — every care indicator (typed)

Each figure for this state with its four-status warrant and named source. RECORDED = an observed count; DERIVED = an in-house aggregation the atlas computed over CMS inputs (CMS does not publish it).

| indicator | value | warrant | source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hospitals listed | 120 | RECORDED | CMS Care Compare (2026) |
| Hospitals with an Overall Star Rating | 90 | RECORDED | CMS Care Compare (2026) |
| Hospitals without an Overall Star Rating | 30 | RECORDED | CMS Care Compare (2026) |
| State mean HCAHPS patient-experience star | 3.36 | DERIVED | CMS Care Compare (2026) — atlas-computed state mean |
| Median hospital — measures better than national | 0 | DERIVED | CMS Care Compare (2026) — atlas-computed state median |
| Median hospital — measures no different from national | 13 | DERIVED | CMS Care Compare (2026) — atlas-computed state median |
| Median hospital — measures worse than national | 0 | DERIVED | CMS Care Compare (2026) — atlas-computed state median |
| Data year | 2026 | RECORDED | CMS Care Compare (2026) |
| CMS source dataset | care_gold.hospital_quality_serving_surface | — | CMS Care Compare (2026) |
| CMS source id | src:cms:care-compare:2026 | — | CMS Care Compare (2026) |
| Content hash | 9411feb416b3ec30 | — | CMS Care Compare (2026) |
| Generated at | 2026-06-20T03:42:08.398414+00:00 | — | CMS Care Compare (2026) |

### North Carolina — CMS Overall Star Rating distribution (MODELED)

Count of rated hospitals by CMS Overall Star Rating. The star is a CMS latent-variable statistical model over measure groups, not a direct measurement; the count by star is mechanical over CMS's published per-hospital ratings.

| stars | hospitals |
| --- | --- |
| 5 | 12 |
| 4 | 28 |
| 3 | 29 |
| 2 | 17 |
| 1 | 4 |

### North Carolina — hospitals by CMS facility type (RECORDED)

Count of listed hospitals per CMS facility type — a recorded census of the facilities CMS lists.

| facility_type | hospitals |
| --- | --- |
| Acute Care Hospitals | 80 |
| Critical Access Hospitals | 20 |
| Psychiatric | 14 |
| Acute Care - Veterans Administration | 4 |
| Acute Care - Department of Defense | 2 |

### North Carolina — hospitals by ownership (RECORDED)

Count of listed hospitals per CMS ownership category — a recorded census of the facilities CMS lists.

| ownership | hospitals |
| --- | --- |
| Voluntary non-profit - Private | 54 |
| Proprietary | 18 |
| Government - Hospital District or Authority | 15 |
| Government - Local | 11 |
| Voluntary non-profit - Other | 7 |
| Government - State | 6 |
| Veterans Health Administration | 4 |
| Department of Defense | 2 |
| Government - Federal | 2 |
| Voluntary non-profit - Church | 1 |