Wake commissioners could delay Atrium. WakeMed merger vote

Wake County commissioners could delay Monday’s planned vote on a merger between WakeMed and Charlotte-based Atrium Health.

State Treasurer Brad Briner and state Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake, issued social media posts Sunday indicating the vote might not take place Monday. The issue appears on commissioners’ consent agenda for their regularly scheduled meeting.

Meanwhile, State Auditor Dave Boliek also issued a public request Sunday for commissioners to delay the vote.

“This weekend I sent a letter to the Wake County commissioners sharing my concerns with the Atrium/WakeMed merger,” Briner wrote Sunday on X. “Thankfully the Board is going to delay the vote. This proposed move will increase already high healthcare costs with no meaningful investment in Wake County.”

“I heard from one of our Wake County Commissioners this morning that they intend to delay this vote,” Schietzelt posted Sunday on X. “That’s the right move. This merger will significantly impact the cost and quality of care across Wake County. It merits a transparent, deliberative process.”

“I’ve never seen one of these hospital consolidations that ended up lowering prices and improving quality,” Schietzelt had posted Sarturday. “We need to slow down until we have all the information.”

“Could not have said it better myself,” state Rep. Erin Pare, R-Wake, responded on X.

“The rollout of the proposed hospital takeover raises questions,” Boliek wrote in a letter to Wake commissioners and shared in a news release. “The lack of transparency does not instill confidence, in fact, it calls for greater scrutiny and explanation. In the interest of the people of Wake County and all of the citizens in North Carolina, the vote to approve WakeMed’s amended articles of incorporation, currently scheduled for May 4, 2026, should be delayed, and I applaud any decision to delay this vote.”

Atrium and WakeMed plan a “strategic combination” including a $2 billion Atrium commitment to WakeMed’s initiatives, according to a document posted in connection with Wake commissioners’ Monday meeting.

The release of that information Friday afternoon prompted a swift response from Briner.

“There is a simple business principle that when suppliers consolidate and competition is reduced it is the consumers who suffer,” Briner said in a prepared statement. “This has been proven to be true time and again in the health care landscape, where prices continue to rise and patients are left with mounting medical debt.”

“I look forward to the Attorney General and FTC carefully scrutinizing this proposal and what it could mean for the people across our state,” Briner added. “If history is any guide, this merger will not benefit the public.”  

Atrium, frequently described as North Carolina’s largest hospital system, is part of Advocate Health, which labels itself the nation’s third-largest nonprofit hospital system.

Founded in 1961, WakeMed has three acute-care hospitals, a physical rehabilitation hospital, and a mental health hospital for a total of 973 beds, according to its website. “Our physician practices are home to more than 350 physicians representing nearly every specialty,” according to the site.

“Recently, WakeMed leadership informed the County of its plans for a strategic combination with Atrium Health, Inc,” according to the information provided for Wake commissioners’ Monday meeting. “Atrium Health combined with Advocate Aurora Health in 2022 to create Advocate Health, Inc. which is headquartered in Charlotte. At its April Board meeting, the WakeMed Board of Directors unanimously approved this transaction, allowing WakeMed to become affiliated with the Advocate Health enterprise.”

“WakeMed intends to convert from a non-member nonprofit to a single-member nonprofit in which Atrium Health becomes the sole member to ensure unified governance, consistent oversight, and alignment with system objectives (‘Transaction’),” the agenda item explained. “WakeMed will continue as the same legal entity without dissolving or reincorporating, and as part of the Transaction, Atrium Health will make a $2,000,000,000.00 capital commitment to further WakeMed’s strategic initiatives.”

The deal acquires Wake County commissioners’ approval of amended and restated WakeMed articles of incorporation. Commissioners would maintain control of eight seats on WakeMed’s 14-member governing board.

“WakeMed will restate its commitment to maintaining or improving the existing level of health care services to citizens of Wake County and surrounding areas, including indigent and community health care,” according to the commissioners’ agenda document. “The County is not contributing any funding and will not be conveying any new property or assets to WakeMed as part of the Transaction.”

WakeMed’s history dates back to 1955, when voters approved a bond for a local hospital that opened in 1961 as the 380-bed Memorial Hospital. Originally a public hospital, WakeMed operates now as a private, not-for-profit corporation.

“Wake commissioners could delay Atrium. WakeMed merger vote” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.