Your chance to be heard
Wake County Public Hearing
Monday, August 17 • 2:00 p.m.
Wake County Justice Center, Room 2700 • Raleigh
The WakeMed–Atrium Merger Is Coming to a Head. State Employees Need to Show Up.
After three months of community meetings and backroom briefings, Wake County commissioners hold a public hearing Monday. A vote could come as soon as September 8. This is the moment to be heard.
When Atrium Health announced plans to absorb WakeMed in May, SEANC pushed back immediately. Members contacted commissioners, Ardis Watkins sent a formal letter, and commissioners voted to pause the deal for 90 days. That window closes now. The public hearing on August 17 at 2 p.m. at the Wake County Justice Center is your last clear opportunity to speak on the record before commissioners vote.
Can’t make it to Raleigh? You can still make a difference. Contact your commissioner directly and tell them to vote no. Every message counts — and this merger affects state employees and retirees in all 100 counties, not just Wake.
Why this still matters to you
- Your premiums could rise by up to $100 a year. The State Health Plan covers 748,000 NC state employees, retirees, and their families. When Atrium gains pricing power over the Triangle market, the plan pays more — and that cost comes back to you.
- The secrecy hasn’t stopped. While the public was told to attend listening sessions, WakeMed and Atrium executives were privately briefing commissioners in groups of three — specifically to stay below the four-member quorum that would trigger open meetings law.
- No community trust. No off-ramp. When Novant took over New Hanover’s hospital and HCA took over Mission in Asheville, community endowment trusts were required. No such protection exists in this proposal for Wake County.
- The vote could come September 8. No vote is expected Monday, but commissioners could act at their very next meeting. Time is short.
- Commissioners must approve this deal for it to close. Without their vote to amend WakeMed’s articles of incorporation, Atrium cannot take over. Your voice still matters.
“These mergers always follow the same pattern. They’re the same dialogue up front about how it’s necessary and how these systems won’t survive without it. And they all end up in the same place, with higher prices for the State Health Plan.”
— NC State Treasurer Brad Briner
🎧 The SEANC View Podcast • Episode 116
Atrium Takeover of WakeMed Sparks Community Outcry
Ardis Watkins speaks with two community leaders about what this merger would mean for the people who depend on WakeMed most — costs, access to care, Atrium’s history with medical debt and legal tactics, and how to take action before commissioners vote.
📄 Read SEANC’s Letter to the Commissioners
📝 Opinion • Carolina Journal
Mergers Only Make Hospital Monopolies Worse
Atrium has a documented history of using market power against consumers — including fighting the very insurance network strategies the State Health Plan relies on to hold down costs. With NC’s hospital markets already highly concentrated, officials should regard this merger with suspicion, especially one hurried through under the cloak of darkness.
Can’t attend in person?
Send This Message to Your Commissioner
Copy the message below and paste it into your commissioner’s contact form. Personal messages carry extra weight.
Sample message — copy and paste
As a North Carolina state employee and SEANC member, I am writing to urge you to vote no on the proposed combination of WakeMed and Atrium Health.
I am deeply concerned about what this merger will mean for the State Health Plan, which covers 748,000 state employees, retirees, and their families. Every hospital consolidation study shows the same result: when competition disappears, prices go up. State Treasurer Brad Briner has warned this deal will follow the same pattern and leave the State Health Plan — and state employees — paying more.
I am also troubled by the lack of transparency. Contract details were shared with commissioners in private groups sized specifically to avoid open meetings requirements. The public deserves better.
This deal lacks the community trust protections required in both the Novant-New Hanover and HCA-Mission transactions. Without those safeguards, there is nothing to hold Atrium accountable if promises go unkept.
Please vote no.
Write to the full Board of Commissioners at onceUse the general contact form to reach all seven commissioners together.
Or contact your commissioner directly
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