Penn’s flagship hospitals are still No. 1 in the state after the decision to stop participating in U.S. News rankings

Penn Medicine announced in June that starting next year, it will no longer submit data for the annual “best hospital” rankings by U.S. News & World Report.

But in a last hurrah, the combo of Penn’s Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Presbyterian Medical Center, both in University City, retained their spot in the U.S. News 2023-24 honor roll of the nation’s 22 best hospitals and their ranking as the best in Pennsylvania.

Penn said Tuesday that it stands by its decision to back away from the U.S. News ranking.

“While Penn Medicine has always ranked well, and this year’s numbers are better than ever, we remain concerned that the underlining methodology used to determine the yearly rankings does not account for the full and diverse settings where health care is delivered,” Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, said in an emailed statement.

Mahoney told The Inquirer in June that hospitals sometimes chased rankings by devoting time and money to improve performance measures that mattered only because they were part of the U.S. News methodology.

Penn is among the first health systems to say it will no longer submit data for the rankings. Another is St. Luke’s University Health System, headquartered in Bethlehem.

Penn’s health system includes six hospitals. In addition to HUP and Presbyterian, Penn owns Pennsylvania Hospital, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Hospital, and Princeton Medical Center.

The not-for-profit system also owns 11 outpatient centers for specialty care.