LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – After the federal government granted the state of Nebraska $218.5 million for healthcare, grant applications opened this week.
This funding is part of the Rural Healthcare Transformation Plan, and although many are looking forward to utilizing it, many healthcare experts aren’t quite satisfied.
“Unfortunately, we feel like we’re not making enough of an investment with these dollars that the state is rolling out to strengthen our core healthcare services,” said Jeremy Nordquist, the President of Nebraska Healthcare Association.
Of the $218 million, $10 million has been designated specifically for rural hospitals.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal entity partnering with each state for the Rural Health Transformation Plan.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services is implementing the plan statewide.
A spokesperson for DHHS, Alycia Davis, sent the following statement to Channel 8 on Friday.
“Nebraska’s plan was designed to strengthen the entire rural health delivery system, which includes hospitals, clinics, providers, EMS, workforce pipelines and community-based support, all of which directly affects hospital sustainability.”
The plan will disburse funds each year, and CMS will set approval standards, which Nordquist says worries him.
“They’re creating an incredible amount of red tape, and I’m concerned that either we’re not going to get the dollars where they need to go, or we’re going to just spend so much money with compliance and chasing these dollars that the pot of money that actually gets to work itself is minimized,” Nordquist said.
Nebraska DHHS also sent this statement to Channel 8:
“While Nebraska received $218.5 million for the first year, this funding level is not guaranteed to continue for the next four years. A top priority is to position Nebraska favorably to maximize the resources available to Nebraska throughout this five-year program.”
DHHS also said that they are working with many stakeholders across multiple platforms during this first year of the plan.
Nordquist adds that he believes that investing in rural hospitals through investments in workforce and technology would be best for rural families.
