CHICAGO -- A plan to curb the number of beds available to emergency-room patients at one of the nation's most prestigious hospitals has spurred a divisive internal debate that is being closely watched by hospital physicians across the country.

At issue at the University of Chicago Medical Center, located in the South Side's Hyde Park neighborhood, is a proposal that could limit the number of beds available to emergency-room patients. In February, two high-ranking doctors quit their administrative posts to protest the plan,...