Medicare is set to penalize 120 hospitals in Illinois for an excessive number of readmissions. The punitive move is part of a larger move towards improving patient care and outcomes. 

According to data from the federal government, 76 percent of 3,400 acute-care hospitals in the nation will see their reimbursements docked by up to 3 percent because patients with certain ailments returned for additional treatment within 30 days of their last visit.

In Illinois, all but seven hospitals will be penalized next year due to a high number of readmissions. Illinois' rate of readmission is higher than the national average, with 94 percent of hospitals seeing a high number of returning patients between 2010 and 2013.

The readmission penalties program is part of the Affordable Care Act and began in October of 2012. The penalty has scaled up annually from 1 percent in fiscal year 2013, hitting 3 percent for FY 2015.