San Francisco reaches settlement with U.S. News over rankings

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu announced Thursday that his office secured a settlement that requires U.S. News & World Report to disclose on its website that some hospitals included in its “Best Hospitals” rankings pay U.S. News.

For the settlement, U.S. News also published Chiu’s op-ed on August 29 outlining concerns over ranking methodology.

Chiu launched an investigation into U.S. News in 2023 after discovering the media company may have accepted payments from endorsed hospitals without disclosing those financial ties to readers. One hospital later acknowledged that it paid U.S. News $42,000 to use the “Best Hospitals” badge for one year, according to Chiu’s office.
 
“Consumers use these hospital rankings to make consequential health care decisions, but at the outset of our investigation the company did not disclose as required by U.S. law that it received payments from the hospitals it ranked, including licensing fees for permission to display a ‘Best Hospitals’ badge,” Chiu said. “My office is committed to defending consumers’ best interests, so I’m glad we were able to reach a settlement that ensures greater transparency in U.S. News’s financial disclosures.”

California’s Unfair Competition Law prohibits unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices, as well as unfair, deceptive, untrue, or misleading advertising.

Chiu sent two subpoenas to the media company in 2024 to obtain information about the company’s potential violations of California consumer protection laws. U.S. News responded by filing a lawsuit claiming the investigation violated the company’s First Amendment rights.

On April 25, both sides entered a settlement agreement requiring U.S. News to include a disclaimer on its webpages stating that it may earn revenue from some hospitals.

For its 2025-2026 Best Hospitals nationwide rankings, two Bay Area hospitals made it into the top 20: Stanford Health Care-Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto and UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco.