Nebraska threw a ‘lifeline’ to rural hospitals on the brink. It’s fraying.

‘Who’s the chump?’

The mounting challenges facing hospitals led Nebraska lawmakers to try to help — pushing a bill to unlock up to $1 billion in federal Medicaid funding. But that money was tied up in a federal approval process for over a year, putting some hospitals on edge.

Every day, Laura Gamble sees the importance of Pender Community Hospital in the lives of her neighbors. The woman who drove an hour to deliver …