New York City won’t meet its April 1 target to finalize a deal to fold Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn into the city’s public hospital system, after the parties failed to get the state attorney general's office to sign off on the deal, officials said.
Any proposed nonprofit merger in New York requires approval from either the attorney general’s office or the state Supreme Court — and the parties will now have to seek judicial review instead. It wasn’t immediately clear how long such a review will take.
The delay is welcome news for members of the Orthodox Jewish community who oppose the city takeover and have filed multiple lawsuits to block the deal. Leaders at NYC Health and Hospitals and Maimonides have argued the merger will provide much-needed upgrades and financial stability to the 100-year-old medical center in Borough Park, while preserving its religious and cultural accommodations.
Amid the legal wrangling, a significant pot of money is on the line: Gov. Kathy Hochul has pledged more than $2 billion in state funding for Maimonides over five years if the merger goes through.
Marissa Cray, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health, declined to comment on how that funding might be affected by pending litigation and the delay in finalizing the deal, but said it was “critical to preserving, protecting and expanding access" to health care in Brooklyn.
Sam Miller, a spokesperson for Maimonides, said the medical center “is committed to finalizing our partnership with NYC Health and Hospitals as quickly as possible to benefit our patients, communities and staff." He added, “We remain confident that the transaction will ultimately be approved.”
Maimonides and Health and Hospitals are still working to complete their petition to the court to approve the deal, Miller said.
NYC Health and Hospitals spokesperson Chris Miller said the health system’s effort to finalize the merger is “fueled by respect for Maimonides’ culture and heritage, as well as our shared mission of serving New York City without exception.”
The attorney general’s office said it determined court review would be more appropriate for the merger because of the ongoing legal challenges.
A group of Maimonides board members filed a lawsuit to stop the merger in November, alleging that with NYC Health and Hospitals at the helm, Maimonides would provide worse quality care and be less equipped to serve Jewish patients.
A separate coalition of Jewish organizations and leaders then filed a lawsuit earlier this month against State Health Commissioner James McDonald, alleging that he allowed the proposed deal to bypass key steps in the state regulatory process that would have provided a closer look at its potential impact on the community.
The lawsuit also alleges that, under state law, the merger has to be reviewed by the state’s Public Health and Health Planning Council, a group of experts tasked with oversight of a wide range of health care transactions. But NYC Health and Hospitals countered in court documents that the state Planning Council is not responsible for overseeing the establishment of city-run hospitals.
Both lawsuits are still pending in court.
This story was updated with additional comment.
