IL suit says private clinics diverted poor to EDs

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit against two Chicago-area medical practices, contending that the two refused primary care to Medicaid patients in an effort to get them into their higher-priced affiliated emergency departments. The suit also charges that the clinics, Carle Clinic Association of Urbana, IL, and Christie Clinic of Champaign, IL, wanted to discourage Medicaid patients from visiting their facilities. According to the suit, the two clinics now employ more than 90 percent of physicians in their region, Champaign County. The Attorney General's office argues that any limits on Medicaid patients' access by such a powerful group of providers could prove particularly harmful.

To learn more about the suit:
- read this Chicago Tribune piece

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