Vote NO on the Atrium Health/WakeMed Merger and Put Our First Responders, Teachers, and NC Families Above Corporate Interests

We, the undersigned citizens of Wake County and North Carolina, respectfully urge the Wake County Board of Commissioners to vote NO on any approval required for the proposed Atrium Health/WakeMed merger or control transaction.

We further ask the Board to adopt a binding resolution delaying any vote unless and until this proposal receives full state-level review and written, enforceable protections are adopted for patients, taxpayers, Wake County residents, and members of the North Carolina State Health Plan.

This is not a routine local hospital matter.

Atrium Health, based in Mecklenburg County, is seeking to become the sole corporate member and governing parent of WakeMed Health and Hospitals. WakeMed is a community-rooted, nonprofit health system built through decades of public trust, taxpayer support, local investment, and service to Wake County families.

A change in control of WakeMed would affect far more than Wake County. It could directly impact health care and health care costs for every NC family - and to an even greater degree those who depend on the North Carolina State Health Plan.

These are the people who serve our communities and keep state and local government functioning. They should not be exposed to higher premiums, higher out-of-pocket costs, or higher taxpayer-funded health care expenses because of a hospital control transaction approved without full transparency and enforceable protections.

Atrium and WakeMed have promised expanded facilities, new virtual care networks, additional jobs, and investment in future health care services.

But promises of growth do not answer the most important question:

Will we all pay more?

The North Carolina State Health Plan has already raised serious concerns that Atrium charges significantly more than WakeMed for many of the same services. If WakeMed’s pricing moves toward Atrium’s pricing after this merger, the result could be higher premiums, higher claims costs, and higher health care expenses for every citizen in North Carolina.

Why is this even being considered?

WakeMed is not a failing hospital system in need of rescue. WakeMed has grown and expanded throughout Wake County for years. If WakeMed needs additional capital, partnerships, or expansion, those needs should be met without surrendering local control, weakening public accountability, or exposing State Health Plan members and taxpayers to higher costs.

The job-creation argument also deserves scrutiny. WakeMed already has hundreds of open positions. Promising thousands of new jobs in an already strained health care labor market does not guarantee better care, lower costs, or improved access for patients. Wake County residents deserve real answers, not broad promises.

We are not opposed to hospitals, growth, better technology, mental health expansion, or improved care.

We are opposed to approving a major hospital control transaction without full transparency, state-level review, and binding cost protections for the people who would be forced to pay the bill.

Before Wake County Commissioners approve any part of this transaction, Atrium and WakeMed should be required to:

1. 
   Provide a binding written guarantee that WakeMed’s State Health Plan rates will not rise to Atrium’s higher rate structure.
2. Agree to enforceable price protections.
3. Submit the transaction for state-level review by the North Carolina General Assembly, State Treasurer, Attorney General, State Auditor, and appropriate State Health Plan oversight officials.
4. Fully disclose the governance documents showing who will control WakeMed after the transaction.
5. Explain how the proposed investment will be enforced, who will monitor compliance, and what penalties will apply if promises are not kept.
6. Show why WakeMed cannot meet its future needs without transferring governing control to Atrium.
7. Provide clear assurances that this merger will not reduce local accountability, increase costs, or limit patient choice.
8. Disclose the anticipated increase in executive compensation for both WakeMed and Atrium executives as a result of this merger (the real beneficiaries).
   
   

North Carolina needs more affordable health care, not more hospital consolidation that gives large systems greater pricing power.

Wake County taxpayers and North Carolina families deserve transparency before approval, accountability before control is transferred, and enforceable protections before any merger moves forward.

Most importantly, families who depend on the North Carolina State Health Plan deserve to know that their health care costs will not go up because of a deal they had no voice in approving.

For these reasons, we respectfully ask the Wake County Board of Commissioners to:

Vote NO on the Atrium Health/WakeMed merger or any related approval unless and until the transaction receives state-level review and binding written protections are adopted for Wake County residents, State Health Plan members, and families across North Carolina.