Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Nassau County Democrats are continuing to press Republican lawmakers for answers about Nassau University Medical Center, raising a long list of concerns that stretch back to the spring — before New York state officials initiated the takeover of the hospital and its parent organization, the Nassau Health Care Corporation.
Following a July 29 Newsday report that former health care executives charged a $1,400 Manhattan restaurant bill to the hospital in late May, Democratic Legislators Seth Koslow and Delia DeRiggi-Whitton announced the referral of the allegations to local, state and federal prosecutors. Koslow is running for county executive, and DeRiggi-Whitton leads the legislature’s minority caucus.
The public hospital in East Meadow, according to a news release from the minority caucus, is $1.4 billion in debt. Interim leadership at NUMC, appointed over the last two months by state officials, have accused the hospital’s former president and chief executive Meg Ryan of authorizing $3.5 million in improper severance payments, including at least $1 million in excess of hospital policy. Ryan and her legal team have rebuffed the claims, with Ryan announcing her intent to sue NHCC alleging wrongful termination, lost wages and intentional reputational damage last month.
“The payments she authorized were permissible under hospital policy and consistent with years of established practice by the CEOs who preceded her,” Alex Hartzband, an attorney with Grubin Law Group representing Ryan said in a release, adding that she “did absolutely nothing wrong.”
Ryan maintained that during her time as president and chief executive, the hospital system “expanded services, improved quality of care, and reduced expenses.”
“My top priority has always been giving people the best possible health care and protecting our dedicated employees,” she said.
Provisions in New York’s budget that passed in May allowed forallowed the state to begin taking over parts of the hospital system and changing its leadership structure. The move shifted control from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Democrats.
The restructured board includes six members appointed by the governor — including one recommended by the state Assembly speaker and state Senate president — two appointed by the Nassau County executive, two by the county Legislature’s majority, and one by its minority.
State officials have filled their allotted seats, with Stuart Rabinowitz, former president of Hofstra University, being named the board chairman by Hochul. Dr. Richard Becker, a system executive from Northwell Health, was named interim president and chief executive by the board. Blakeman has not yet designated his appointees, having expressed his frustrations with the state’s overhaul in June.
“While Nassau’s only safety-net hospital was drowning in $1.4 billion worth of debt,” DeRiggi-Whitton said at a July 29 news conference in Mineola, “top executives were treating themselves to lavish lobster dinners, luxury hotels and first-class perks. NUMC exists to save lives. It’s not a luxury funding entity for politically connected insiders.”
“Every single dollar for every perk that was used and every impromptu payout that was spent of these executives are taxpayer dollars that should have been used to help the people of Nassau County,” Koslow said. “There are 300,000 residents that use the hospital every single year. Every single dollar spent on these lavish expenses could have been used to help those patients.”
In three certified correspondences sent on July 29 to the offices of Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, the minority caucus requested an investigation into the “lavish and questionable” spending by former NUMC executives; the allegations against Ryan and the “improper” payouts; and the “unexplained theft and recovery” of documents from former board chairman Matthew Bruderman’s home, shortly before his abrupt firing in April.
“We’re not going to stand for this,” Koslow said. “We believe it’s public corruption. That’s why we are referring these issues and these incidents for further and full investigations.
“These matters must be investigated for the sake of taxpayers, for the sake of this government and for the sake of our people in Nassau County,” he added. “We deserve a hospital that puts patients first — not lavish lifestyles for high paying executives. This goes deeper than what we see today, and that’s why we’re calling on our state and federal officials to investigate this alongside our county district attorney’s office.”
In a Newsday story on the same matter, a spokesperson from the Nassau DA’s office stated the office has “previously initiated an investigation into NUMC mismanagement,” adding that it remains active and ongoing. The office confirmed the receipt of the minority caucus’s letter. No additional details were provided.
