A state judge has ruled that the New York State Department of Health improperly bypassed a required oversight body when it approved a state-funded hospital partnership involving NYC Health + Hospitals and Maimonides Medical Center, according to Politico New York.
Albany County Supreme Court Justice Denise Hartman found that the proposed transaction should have gone before the Public Health and Health Planning Council, the state entity responsible for reviewing major health care projects and construction plans, the news site reported.
The partnership includes $2.2 billion in state funding approved last year under Governor Kathy Hochul’s administration to support a merger effort between NYC Health + Hospitals and the Brooklyn-based safety-net hospital.
The lawsuit was filed in March by Refuah Helpline and several Brooklyn residents who receive medical care through Maimonides. The plaintiffs argued that state Health Commissioner James McDonald bypassed legal review requirements by approving funding through the state’s Safety Net Transformation Program without submitting the broader transaction to the council, according to Politico.
According to court records, the Department of Health had argued that approval of the funding application satisfied statutory review obligations. Hartman rejected that interpretation, ruling that the proposal still required formal review by the council before moving forward, the news site said.
The decision does not end the merger effort, but it adds another regulatory hurdle for both hospital systems.
