CHICAGO – Savings from cuts to the Illinois Medicaid program have fallen short by $464 million, about 30 percent of the expected $1.6 billion in projected savings that Gov. Pat Quinn pushed for last year.

In the first public report on how cuts to the health care safety-net program are being carried out, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Julie Hamos detailed the actual savings of cost-cutting measures so far. Hamos reported to the House Human Services Appropriation Committee on Thursday in Springfield.

Repairing a long-term deficit in the Medicaid program was a top legislative priority for Quinn. In June, the Chicago Democrat signed a multilayered package of cuts and taxes, known as the SMART Act, including a cigarette-tax increase of $1 per pack.