The second-year federal award follows grants for hospitals, mobile services and preventive care in Sussex, Warren and Hunterdon counties.
MORRIS COUNTY, NJ – New Jersey has been awarded $142,338,224 for the second year of the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, continuing a funding effort already supporting hospitals and community health services across northwestern New Jersey.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the awards Nov. 9, and New Jersey Monitor reported the state’s allocation Nov. 10. New Jersey’s total is the smallest among the 50 states in the federal fiscal year 2027 table.
The amount is approximately $4.9 million below the state’s $147.25 million first-year allocation. The new award is part of a five-year, $50 billion federal program intended to expand access to care, improve health outcomes and strengthen rural health systems.
The federal total does not identify a new grant for an individual North Jersey hospital. It establishes the state’s second-year allocation; local projects are funded through the state’s implementation process.
New Jersey’s program guidance uses both federal and state definitions of rural communities. Hunterdon and Warren counties appear under both definitions, while Sussex County qualifies under the state definition. The guidance also allows for facilities in neighboring counties that serve substantial rural populations.
The first round of state awards, announced July 31, committed $83 million to 103 projects. The accompanying allocation list shows how that earlier funding is intended to reach northern New Jersey patients:
- Hackettstown Medical Center and Newton Medical Center: $1.46 million each for hospital-capacity projects involving transitions of care, nutrition programs and tele-neurology equipment, with an emphasis on uninsured and underinsured patients.
- St. Luke’s Warren Hospital: $1.46 million for imaging equipment and software upgrades, plus a separate $657,452 technology award.
- Zufall Health Center: $600,162 for mobile, telehealth and community services serving rural Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties, plus $154,135 for chronic-disease prevention and management.
- Sussex County: $206,539 for screening kiosks, mobile clinics, health education and referrals.
Those amounts are earlier project awards, not new distributions from the $142.3 million allocation.
CMS said the second-year amounts reflect several factors, including states’ implementation progress. The agency reviewed annual reports from all 50 states and said projects should develop approaches that can continue after the five-year funding period ends.
New Jersey’s program website provides updates on implementation and future opportunities. Further state award announcements will determine which providers and services receive the second-year money.