Gov. Kathy Hochul announced more than $2.6 billion in capital and operating support on Oct. 16, 2025, for six safety-net hospital partnerships across New York, including a Brooklyn deal pairing Maimonides Medical Center with NYC Health + Hospitals.

The investment, made through the state’s Health Care Safety Net Transformation Program, is designed to shore up hospitals that serve large numbers of Medicaid and uninsured patients and to push struggling standalone institutions into partnerships with larger, more stable systems. “Safety net hospitals play a critical role in providing quality health care to vulnerable populations,” Hochul said in announcing the awards.

The Brooklyn deal

The marquee New York City piece is the pairing of Maimonides Medical Center — one of Brooklyn’s largest hospitals — with the public NYC Health + Hospitals system. Under the partnership, H+H will help Maimonides implement a new electronic health record system to improve care coordination and the patient experience while continuing to serve the existing community in southwest Brooklyn.

For H+H, the city’s public hospital network, the arrangement deepens its footprint in a borough where it already runs Kings County and Woodhull, and it positions the system as a stabilizing partner for a private safety-net hospital rather than a competitor.

The full list

The six partnerships funded under the program are:

  • Arnot Ogden Medical Center and Cayuga Health (operating as Centralus Health) in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes;
  • Crouse Hospital and Northwell Health in Syracuse;
  • Erie County Medical Center and University at Buffalo Physicians Group in Western New York;
  • Maimonides Medical Center and NYC Health + Hospitals in Brooklyn;
  • St. John’s Riverside and Montefiore Health System in the lower Hudson Valley; and
  • Westchester Medical Center, Bon Secours Charity Health System and Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley.

Each deal links a financially pressured hospital with a larger system or academic partner, using state dollars to underwrite the transition.

A sector under strain

The awards arrive as New York’s hospital sector confronts mounting fiscal pressure. State budget materials have estimated that 75 of 261 hospitals statewide — roughly 29% — are financially distressed. Safety-net hospitals, which depend heavily on Medicaid reimbursement and disproportionate-share (DSH) payments, are especially exposed to federal Medicaid reductions enacted in 2025.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli warned in a December 2025 report that federal legislation and regulatory changes “could significantly alter the level of support” that public hospitals receive, projecting that NYC Health + Hospitals alone could face up to $622 million in federal DSH cuts. Against that backdrop, the $2.6 billion transformation program is partly a bet that consolidation and shared infrastructure can keep fragile hospitals open where standalone operation no longer pencils out.

The state has framed the partnerships as preserving access — emergency rooms, maternity units and primary care — in communities that would have few alternatives if a local hospital closed. Whether the one-time and operating dollars are enough to offset the looming federal losses will be the test over the program’s multi-year rollout.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

How much money did Hochul commit and for what?
More than $2.6 billion in capital and operating dollars across six safety-net hospital partnerships statewide, announced Oct. 16, 2025, under New York's Health Care Safety Net Transformation Program.
What is the NYC piece of the deal?
Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn will partner with NYC Health + Hospitals. H+H will help Maimonides implement a new electronic health record system to improve care coordination, with the aim of preserving critical services for Brooklyn patients.
Which other hospitals are involved?
Arnot Ogden with Cayuga Health; Crouse Hospital with Northwell Health; Erie County Medical Center with University at Buffalo Physicians; St. John's Riverside with Montefiore; and Westchester Medical Center with Bon Secours Charity and Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley.
Why do safety-net hospitals need this money?
Safety-net hospitals serve large shares of Medicaid and uninsured patients and run thin margins. State budget documents have estimated that roughly 29% of New York's hospitals are financially distressed, and federal Medicaid changes threaten further losses.