NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital lawsuits currently span four fronts: a federal antitrust case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice in March 2026, a private class action by union health funds raising nearly identical claims, a settled New York Attorney General investigation into psychiatric-care failures, and a $750 million sexual abuse settlement tied to former gynecologist Robert Hadden. The hospital system is also locked in a running arbitration and court fight with its nurses’ union over staffing.
The DOJ Antitrust Case
On March 26, 2026, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a civil complaint against NewYork-Presbyterian alleging violations of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The case, No. 26-cv-2480, is pending in the Southern District of New York.1U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Sues New York-Presbyterian Hospital Over Anticompetitive Contracts
The government’s theory is that NYP is a “must-have” system for commercial insurers in the New York area and uses that leverage to write contract terms that block cheaper coverage options. According to the complaint, NYP prohibits insurers from building narrow-network plans that exclude NYP facilities, from placing NYP hospitals in anything but the most favorable benefit tier, and from offering patients lower copays for choosing rival, lower-priced hospitals.2Healthcare Finance News. DOJ Sues NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Over Alleged Anticompetitive Contracts Prosecutors point to specific episodes: in 2022, NYP allegedly blocked an insurer from lowering copays for outpatient radiology at less expensive facilities, and in 2023 it stopped a payer from shifting outpatient colonoscopies to lower-cost settings.3ASC News. DOJ Suit Against NewYork-Presbyterian Has Implications for ASC Steering
The DOJ says NYP’s prices are “substantially higher” than competitors for comparable quality of care and is asking the court to enjoin NYP from enforcing the challenged provisions or replacing them with substitutes that produce the same effect.1U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Sues New York-Presbyterian Hospital Over Anticompetitive Contracts NYP operates eight acute care hospitals in the New York City area and holds roughly 17% inpatient market share across Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Westchester County; the government argues the system’s brand and breadth make exclusion from insurer networks impractical despite that sub-majority share.4Fitch Ratings. Fitch Affirms New York-Presbyterian Hospital NY IDR Revs at AA, Outlook Stable
NYP has called the suit “without merit.” The hospital said publicly that its contracting practices are “pro-competitive,” that it does “not seek to exclude any other hospital from any insurer’s network,” and that “insurance companies hold the market power and use it to restrict patient choice.”5Becker’s Hospital Review. NewYork-Presbyterian Named in Antitrust Lawsuit In its formal answer filed on May 26, 2026, NYP argued through counsel at Proskauer Rose that the government is targeting “industry-standard contract terms” that “lower prices and guarantee patient access.”6Law360. NY-Presbyterian Says DOJ’s Antitrust Case Is Misguided The case is in its early stages, with initial scheduling underway.7Georgetown Law Litigation Tracker. United States v. The New York and Presbyterian Hospital
The Parallel Private Class Action
Months before the DOJ moved, private plaintiffs were already suing over the same contracting practices. On September 10, 2025, the UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund filed a class action in the Eastern District of New York alleging that NYP used its “outsized market power” to inflate the cost of inpatient hospital services.8DiCello Levitt LLP. DiCello Levitt Co-Counsel File Class Action Against The New York and Presbyterian Hospital A second suit brought by the Cement and Concrete Workers DC Benefit Fund on July 25, 2025, in the Southern District has been consolidated with it before Judge Brian M. Cogan.9Source on Healthcare. Cement and Concrete Workers DC Benefit Fund v. The New York and Presbyterian Hospital – Complaint
The consolidated complaint, filed on June 5, 2026, brings claims under the Sherman Act, New York’s Donnelly Act, and unjust enrichment. It challenges three types of contract terms: “all-or-nothing” tying clauses that force insurers to include every NYP facility, anti-steering clauses that prevent insurers from directing patients to lower-cost competitors, and gag clauses that block insurers from sharing pricing information with members.10Georgetown Law Litigation Tracker. UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund v. The New York and Presbyterian Hospital The plaintiffs want to represent all entities that paid NYP for general acute care inpatient hospital services in New York City since July 25, 2021, and are seeking actual and treble damages, disgorgement, and an injunction.8DiCello Levitt LLP. DiCello Levitt Co-Counsel File Class Action Against The New York and Presbyterian Hospital The class has not been certified, and no settlement has been reached.
The Attorney General Settlement Over Psychiatric Care
On April 13, 2026, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with NYP resolving a yearslong investigation into the hospital’s treatment of psychiatric emergencies, particularly at its Brooklyn Methodist campus.11Office of the New York Attorney General. Attorney General James Mandates Major Mental Health Reforms at NewYork-Presbyterian The AG’s office said it found “a repeated pattern of failures that put vulnerable patients at risk.”12Becker’s Behavioral Health. NewYork-Presbyterian to Pay $500K, Enact Behavioral Health Reforms
Investigators concluded that patients with serious psychiatric conditions, including suicidal ideation and violent behavior, had left the hospital unsupervised because safety protocols were inadequate. They also found that NYP had not returned more than 100 inpatient psychiatric beds to service after the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly 20% of its licensed psychiatric bed capacity as of May 2023, and that the hospital had diverted ambulances carrying behavioral health patients away from its emergency department.13Office of the New York Attorney General. New York v. The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital – Assurance of Discontinuance
The settlement requires NYP to pay $500,000 and imposes a $10,000 penalty for each future violation. NYP must strengthen suicide and violence risk screening, adopt mandatory observation protocols for high-risk patients, create formal procedures for responding when vulnerable patients leave unsupervised, upgrade its electronic health records for real-time data access, consult patients’ families and community providers, and restore its offline psychiatric beds.11Office of the New York Attorney General. Attorney General James Mandates Major Mental Health Reforms at NewYork-Presbyterian
The Robert Hadden Sexual Abuse Settlement
In May 2025, Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian agreed to pay $750 million to 576 former patients of Robert Hadden, a gynecologist who practiced at Columbia and NYP for two decades. Combined with earlier resolutions, including a $236.5 million payout to 226 victims and a separate $100 million fund Columbia established for patients who did not sue, total institutional costs have exceeded $1 billion.14ProPublica. Columbia University $750 Million Settlement, Robert Hadden Sexual Assault
NYP has referred questions to Columbia, saying the university employed Hadden. The breakdown of payments between the two institutions has not been publicly disclosed.15NBC News. Columbia, New York-Presbyterian Hospital Settle Hundreds of Sex Abuse Claims Hadden was first arrested in 2012 after a patient reported an assault during an exam at his Columbia office, and Columbia allowed him to return to work for five more weeks after that arrest.16ProPublica. Columbia OB-GYN Sexually Assaulted Patients for 20 Years A 2016 plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had him surrender his medical license but avoid prison. Federal prosecutors picked the case back up in 2020, and in January 2023 Hadden was convicted on four federal counts of enticing individuals to travel interstate to engage in illegal sexual activity. He was sentenced in July 2023 to 20 years in prison.17CNN. Robert Hadden Gynecologist Sentencing
Nurses’ Union Staffing Fights
NYP is also in a running dispute with the New York State Nurses Association over staffing at multiple campuses. The union has won three arbitration awards totaling roughly $675,000 and 141 extra vacation days for nurses across three units, covering hundreds of documented staffing violations between 2023 and 2024.18NYSNA. NewYork-Presbyterian Slammed With Almost $400K in Financial Remedies for RNs The most recent award, issued in February 2026, granted $399,829 to nurses in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit at NYP Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital for 614 violations.19NY1. Nearly $400K Awarded to NewYork-Presbyterian Nurses
NYP has appealed every award in federal court. As of early 2026, nurses had not received any of the money. In one instance NYP filed a separate lawsuit trying to block an arbitrator from even hearing evidence about understaffing in four Brooklyn Methodist units. On August 22, 2024, Judge Nina Morrison in the Eastern District of New York dismissed that petition, calling it “gamesmanship” and “plainly meritless,” and authorized the union to seek sanctions including legal fees.20NYSNA. Federal Judge Throws Out NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Meritless Lawsuit Six staffing-related arbitration cases remain pending at various NYP hospitals.