Judge Orders Hospital Rating Group to Overhaul Safety Grades

Leapfrog must remove 'unfair and deceptive' safety grades for five South Florida hospitals

Mar. 12, 2026 at 11:50am

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A federal judge has ordered the hospital ratings group Leapfrog to stop assigning its influential safety grades to five South Florida hospitals based on an 'unfair and deceptive' methodology that penalized them for not providing data. The ruling is a major victory for the hospitals, which have been rocked by Leapfrog's low safety ratings. Leapfrog will remove the 2024-2025 safety grades for the five hospitals and temporarily stop grading all hospitals that decline to participate in its ratings process.

Why it matters

The Leapfrog safety grades are widely used by patients to evaluate hospital quality, so the judge's ruling that Leapfrog's methodology was 'unfair and deceptive' raises concerns about the reliability of the ratings system. The case highlights the power and influence of private hospital rating groups and the potential consequences for hospitals that choose not to participate.

The details

The lawsuit claimed that Leapfrog wrongly adjusted several measures used to calculate its safety grades for the 15%-20% of hospitals that refused to respond to its surveys. Starting with its fall 2024 ratings report, Leapfrog automatically gave nonparticipating hospitals the lowest rating possible on 4 key measures, causing the safety grades for the five South Florida hospitals to plummet to 'F' and 'D' levels. The hospitals argued this hurt their reputations and public perception.

  • In spring 2024, prior to the change in methodology, the grades for the five hospitals were 'C,' 'D,' 'C,' 'D,' and 'C', respectively.
  • As of the fall 2024 report, the safety grades for all five hospitals dipped to rock-bottom levels: 'F' and 'D' grades.
  • The hospitals continued to score only 'D' and 'F' grades in the spring 2025 and fall 2025 ratings.

The players

Leapfrog

A nonprofit organization that provides influential hospital safety grades to the public.

Good Samaritan

A hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Delray

A hospital in Delray Beach, Florida.

Palm Beach Gardens

A hospital in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

West Boca

A hospital in Boca Raton, Florida.

St. Mary's

A hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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What they’re saying

“This ruling validates what hospitals across the country have experienced firsthand: Leapfrog is an organization built on deceptive and unfair practices that harms the very same patients it claims to serve.”

— Maggie Gill, President of Eastern Group, Tenet Healthcare (medscape.com)

“We're outraged. We couldn't disagree more with the finding. It's really overreach, and it's an attack on an organization that has been the gold standard of transparency in any kind of rating. We have a right to our opinion, especially as we've made it very clear exactly how we derive that opinion.”

— Leah Binder, President and CEO of Leapfrog (medscape.com)

What’s next

Leapfrog plans to appeal the judge's ruling. The company also says it will not provide any safety grades for nonparticipating hospitals in its spring 2026 report, and will unveil a 'brand-new methodology for the entire country' in the fall 2026 report.

The takeaway

This case highlights the power and influence of private hospital rating groups like Leapfrog, and the potential consequences for hospitals that choose not to participate in their rating systems. It raises questions about the transparency and fairness of these rating methodologies, and the impact they can have on a hospital's public perception and reputation.