TRENTON (AP) — The federal government has penalized nearly every hospital in New Jersey because too many Medicare patients had to be readmitted within a month of their discharge.

Southern Ocean Medical Center in Stafford Township
Southern Ocean Medical Center in Stafford Township (Townsquare Media NJ)
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The Record reports the state had the highest percentage of hospitals penalized in the country. Only Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus received no penalty.

The cuts are up to 2.49 percent of a hospital's Medicare payments. Medicare provides more than $3 billion in annual funding to New Jersey's hospitals, making it the largest source of their revenue.

The New Jersey Hospital Association estimates the cuts will yield a loss of $23 million for the state.

Aline Holmes, NJHA's senior vice president, says about two-thirds of the state's hospitals decreased their readmission rates this year, but others still have some work to do.

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