Brooklyn, New York-based Maimonides Health is merging with New York City’s public health system NYC Health + Hospitals, the organizations announced Dec. 29.
The merger is pending final legal and regulatory approval but is expected to be finalized by April, city officials said.
The partnership is supported by $2.2 billion over five years from New York state to protect safety net healthcare in Brooklyn, officials said.
Maimonides Health is a Brooklyn healthcare system with three hospitals and more than 80 community-based sites. By partnering with the city, Maimonides will be reimbursed at a higher rate by Medicaid, bolstering its financial position, health system executives said in a press release.
The merger also allows Maimonides to adopt a new Epic electronic health record platform. Health system executives said the move to Epic would help improve care coordination and the organization’s ability to collect revenue. Maimonides patients will be able to access their health records online and contact their care team digitally through the portal.
“By bringing two storied health care systems together under one umbrella, we will ensure that Brooklynites, and all New Yorkers, can continue to receive the high-quality care that they deserve,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “NYC Health + Hospitals is the envy of cities everywhere, and New Yorkers trust the care they receive at its 11 hospitals and many other patient care sites. This effort preserves and strengthens care in my home borough of Brooklyn, and will be great for the thousands of patients who use Maimonides every day.”
“This is an exciting opportunity for NYC Health + Hospitals and Maimonides, two institutions with their own respected history and traditions, but both committed to providing high-quality care for all New Yorkers,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, M.D. “All of our 11 hospitals have their own identity and culture, and Maimonides will retain its unique character and commitment to the communities it serves. As we move forward, we will work with its amazing, dedicated clinicians and staff to ensure a smooth transition for everyone, especially its patients.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the $2.2 billion grant Oct. 16. The Health Care Safety Net Transformation Program encourages partnerships with safety-net institutions by providing strategic capital and operating support, in addition to required regulatory flexibility, to improve the resilience and sustainability of safety-net hospitals and to expand access to high-quality care.
Joining NYC Health + Hospitals will enable Maimonides to continue providing essential specialty care, according to Maimonides Health President and CEO Ken Gibbs. “We are grateful to have a partner who shares our commitment to working with communities to meet their needs, and we are grateful to Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul, and Dr. Katz for giving us this unique opportunity to expand access to our care across Brooklyn,” Gibbs said.
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal healthcare system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. The health system’s network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency and MetroPlus health plan. NYC Health + Hospitals employs more than 46,000 people.
NYC Health + Hospitals noted that the organization, under Katz’s leadership since September 2017, had undergone several changes to improve its finances including consolidating all of its EHRs across the system, which enables better care coordination and data collection, and also expanded its team of financial counselors, who help patients enroll in health insurance if they are eligible, health system executives said.
In fiscal 2025, NYC Health + Hospitals’ direct patient care revenue surpassed $5.7 billion—an increase of more than $2.5 billion from fiscal 2019. The healthcare system now has patients in primary care, with 459,000 in fiscal 2025—an increase of approximately 43,000 patients from fiscal 2018.
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