Nebraska Rural Hospitals Say State Misdirects Federal Relief Funds
Flatwater Free Press analysis finds Nebraska has sent less than 20% of its spent Rural Health Transformation Program funding to the state's rural critical access and emergency hospitals, with at least 11 receiving nothing. Nearly 39% of the $153 million allocated so far went to agencies and companies in the state's three most populous counties, and over 17% to out-of-state entities, according to state data. Garden County Health Services, a financially distressed hospital that filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in August, was denied an $828,231 request for HVAC funding. DHHS officials and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz defended the rollout, saying urban-based grants will eventually benefit rural areas and that federal funding could be reduced next year if the money is mismanaged.