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Rural Nebraska dialysis unit closes despite the state’s $219M in rural health funding

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A Lee Enterprises, Incorporated newspaper. Majority shareholder: David Hoffmann, Hoffmann Media Group.

Alert Top Story Topical

Rural Nebraska dialysis unit closes despite the state’s $219M in rural health funding

• ARIELLE ZIONTS KFF Health News
• Apr 25, 2026
• Apr 25, 2026
• 0

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HAY SPRINGS — The sun was just warming the horizon as Mark Pieper left his house near his cattle ranch on a crisp February morning.

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Mark Pieper sits in his pickup after receiving one of his last dialysis treatments in Chadron, Nebraska, before the rural hospital there shut down that service due to financial challenges. “I guess I’ll just bloat up and die in a month,” Pieper remembers thinking when he heard the news. 

Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News

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Jon Reiners, CEO of Chadron Hospital in Nebraska, says the rural hospital could no longer afford to provide dialysis due to low Medicare reimbursement rates. He says the hospital spent more than a year trying to find solutions, such as reaching out to four private companies to see if they could manage the unit. But they all passed after realizing they wouldn’t break even, he says. 

Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News

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The closure of the dialysis unit at Chadron Hospital upended the lives of its patients in rural Nebraska. Some have moved to be closer to care. One is living in a rental in another city on weekdays. Another is driving more than four hours round-trip for care. 

Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News

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Jim and Carol Wright rented this small house near Rapid City, South Dakota, to live there on weekdays so Jim can get dialysis in town. They say they'll eventually have to sell their house near Chadron and move to a new city to be closer to care. 

Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News

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Contact the writer at zhammack@journalstar.com or 402-473-7225. On X @HammackLJS

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Mark Pieper sits in his pickup after receiving one of his last dialysis treatments in Chadron, Nebraska, before the rural hospital there shut down that service due to financial challenges. “I guess I’ll just bloat up and die in a month,” Pieper remembers thinking when he heard the news. 

• Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News

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The closure of the dialysis unit at Chadron Hospital upended the lives of its patients in rural Nebraska. Some have moved to be closer to care. One is living in a rental in another city on weekdays. Another is driving more than four hours round-trip for care. 

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Jim and Carol Wright rented this small house near Rapid City, South Dakota, to live there on weekdays so Jim can get dialysis in town. They say they'll eventually have to sell their house near Chadron and move to a new city to be closer to care. 

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Jon Reiners, CEO of Chadron Hospital in Nebraska, says the rural hospital could no longer afford to provide dialysis due to low Medicare reimbursement rates. He says the hospital spent more than a year trying to find solutions, such as reaching out to four private companies to see if they could manage the unit. But they all passed after realizing they wouldn’t break even, he says. 

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