Broker Regulation

A bipartisan group tasked with cutting Illinois' Medicaid budget by $2.7 billion failed to come up with a plan by a deadline this week and now Gov. Pat Quinn intends to move ahead with his own proposal, committee members said Wednesday.

The Obama administration is looking for states that will experiment with unemployment insurance programs by letting people test a job while still receiving benefits.

Republicans cast themselves as champions of small business as they pushed a bill toward House passage Thursday that would cut taxes for nearly every employer in the country. Democrats called the measure merely the latest GOP effort to funnel federal help to those who are already successful.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday it was increasing its staff of mental health professionals by roughly 1,900 to better serve veterans returning home from war.

A yearlong experiment with competitive bidding for power wheelchairs, diabetic supplies and other personal medical equipment produced $200 million in savings for Medicare, and government officials said Wednesday they are expanding the pilot program in search of even greater dividends.

Republicans controlling the House are targeting food stamps, federal employee pensions, tax breaks for illegal immigrants and subsidies under President Barack Obama's health care law in a multifaceted drive to swap cuts to domestic programs for big Pentagon cuts scheduled next year.