Urban hospitals propose IL Medicaid plan

A coalition of Chicago-area hospitals that serve the poor called on Illinois officials to go after more federal money before cutting their Medicaid funding, a proposition dismissed by state health officials as based on unrealistic assumptions. Leaders of the Association of Safety-Net Hospitals released a plan Wednesday that aims to bring Illinois' Medicaid program $1.4 billion closer to a balanced budget. They said the state could bring in $110 million more each year in Medicaid money from the federal government than it does now.