The ousted head of Nassau College Medical Heart is suing her former employer, charging breach of contract, gender discrimination and defamation — and alleging she was retaliated in opposition to by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s allies for in search of to recoup $1 billion in funding from a state Medicaid “scheme.”
Ex-NUMC CEO Meg Ryan sued the Nassau Well being Care Company (NHCC), her former hospital’s father or mother group, and its interim CEO Richard Becker in addition to the board of administrators chosen by Hochul in June.
“Regardless of her years of service to NHCC and Nassau County residents, NHCC abruptly terminated her employment following a political takeover of the Company’s Board of Administrators by the State of New York, and mischaracterized the termination as for ‘Trigger’ to achieve political factors and deny Ms. Ryan contractual severance funds she is owed,” acknowledged the grievance filed in New York State Supreme Courtroom on Friday.
Becker, NHCC board chairman Stuart Rabinowitz and Nassau County Interim Finance Authority Chairman Richard Kessel allegedly engaged in “a shameless, relentless media marketing campaign to defame Ms. Ryan’s character to additional their very own political ends and distract from authorities malfeasance that Ms. Ryan helped uncover,” the go well with additional alleges.
As president of NUMC, Ryan had introduced a December 2024 lawsuit in opposition to New York State to reclaim $1.06 billion the hospital had been denied for many years in federal Medicaid funding.
If profitable, the go well with would have compelled the state to return the federal funding again to the hospital, the one public one in Nassau County. A minimum of 80% of its 275,000 sufferers are both uninsured or low earnings, uninsured, and depend on packages like Medicare and Medicaid.
Hochul’s alleged “takeover,” which led to the firing of attorneys representing the hospital in opposition to the state and the withdrawal of the Medicaid fraud go well with, was apparently a part of an effort to plug a $1 billion gap in New York’s finances, the go well with famous.
A June finances deal struck with Albany legislators included an agremeent that imposed a state-run board at NUMC, eradicating native officers from the hospital’s management.
The Hochul appointees allegedly leaked to media that Ryan and different outgoing NUMC executives racked up a $1,500 tab on the Lobster Membership in Midtown the night time earlier than the state takeover — claims which her legal professionals known as categorically false of their grievance.
The brand new NHCC board sued Ryan in August in search of $10 million in damages and accusing her of stealing not less than $1 million from the medical heart by improper exit payouts
Ryan’s grievance has countered that the NHCC board awarded greater than $10 million in no-bid contracts in violation of “state procurement, transparency and public officers’ legal guidelines.”
Hochul’s reps have denied wrongdoing previously and affirmed that the “newly restructured board has been empowered to take the steps mandatory to guard these priorities and to safeguard the way forward for this important group hospital.”
Becker, the interim CEO, was additionally awarded a base wage 28% larger than Ryan’s, “a large pay discrepancy that may solely be defined by the truth that Becker is a person and Ms. Ryan is a girl,” the grievance additionally alleges.
“Since June, members of NHCC management have leveled numerous false accusations in opposition to Ms. Ryan to attain low cost political factors forward of the November election,” Ryan lawyer Alex Hartzband mentioned in a press release.
“Ms. Ryan brings this go well with to set the file straight and get better what she is owed.”
Reps for Hochul’s workplace and NHCC didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
