NewYork-Presbyterian tries to shake down New York City for more money

Update: Deadline extended from Tuesday, April 7, to Friday, April 10

NewYork-Presbyterian is demanding sky-high rates to renew its health contract for New York City employees and pre-Medicare retirees, and is threatening to send 40,000 city workers, retirees, and their families out of network if its demands are not met.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew today called on Presbyterian CEO Brian Donley to end Presbyterian's power play and to work with New York City to reach a fair agreement.

"NewYork-Presbyterian is trying to boost profits with no regard for how its price gouging hurts working families," Mulgrew said. "Our standard has always been high-quality, premium-free health care for city employees and retirees. Other hospitals have worked with New York City to safeguard this benefit. NewYork-Presbyterian needs to do the same."

A review of Presbyterian's pricing data shows it charges, on average, 77 percent more for medical services than other New York City hospital systems. Presbyterian's rates are also nearly 500% above the approved Medicare rate for medical care.

Some specific examples include:

• Presbyterian charges twice as much for a C-section or colonoscopy as other New York City hospital systems and 74% more for asthma-bronchitis treatments, according to publicly available pricing data.

Presbyterian's leadership has until the contract expires at midnight Tuesday, April 7, to change course, Mulgrew said. UPDATE: Deadline extended to Friday, April 10.

Roughly 40,000 city employees, retirees, and their families use NewYork-Presbyterian for their healthcare through the city's HIP-VIP, HIP-HMO, and NYCE PPO health plans. The city's GHI Senior Care program would not be affected if Presbyterian went out of network.

The U.S. Department of Justice sued New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Thursday, March 26, 2026, claiming the hospital stifles competition to protect its high prices and that Presbyterian has kept New Yorkers from being able to select more affordable healthcare. Read the lawsuit »