In a recent study of data from across the country, New Jersey hospitals ranked last in the nation for the high number of patient readmissions after discharge. As a result, the federal government penalized nearly every New Jersey hospital this year with monetary fines and reduced Medicare reimbursements. The New Jersey Spotlight report shows all N.J. hospitals – except for one – will receive lower Medicare reimbursements as a result.

The fines range from .01% Medicare reimbursement reduction for Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, to 2.49% for Palisades Medical Center. The fines are calculated according to the percentage of patient readmissions within 90 days of discharge.

The nationwide penalties, which are estimated to total $373 million, are falling particularly hard on academic medical centers: Roughly half of them will be punished, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis.

For the complete list of NJ hospitals and fines, please visit the East Brunswick Patch.