Ex-NUMC Chief Meg Ryan Sues NHCC, Hochul-Appointed Board Over Retaliation, Defamation

Meg Ryan, the ousted chief executive of Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC), filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC), its interim chief executive, and the board appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, accusing them of breach of contract, gender discrimination and defamation, and alleging retaliation for her bid to reclaim federal Medicaid funding.

The complaint says Ryan was terminated after what it characterizes as a political takeover of NHCC’s board by the state, an action it says was designed to undermine her leadership and deny severance payments she contends she is owed. It names NHCC, interim CEO Richard Becker, and Hochul-appointed board members Stefano Giovannini, Stuart Rabinowitz and Nassau County Interim Finance Authority Chairman Richard Kessel as defendants. The filing states the termination followed a June restructuring of the hospital’s governance and a broader effort to distract from what Ryan helped uncover. The suit quotes the complaint as describing a "shameless, relentless media campaign to defame Ms. Ryan’s character to further their own political ends."

The legal action comes in the wake of Ryan’s December 2024 attempt to reclaim $1.06 billion in federal Medicaid funding that NUMC had long been denied. Under Ryan’s leadership, NUMC had filed a federal Medicaid-funding suit aimed at reversing a historic denial that would have returned funds to the hospital, which serves Nassau County’s largely low-income and uninsured patient population. The complaint asserts the state takeover and the firing of lawyers representing the hospital against the state, along with the withdrawal of the Medicaid fraud suit, were steps to plug a roughly $1 billion gap in New York’s budget. The suit contends the move was politically motivated and detrimental to a hospital that serves about 275,000 patients annually, with a large share relying on Medicare and Medicaid.

The complaint also alleges a broad media push by Hochul appointees to undermine Ryan’s credibility. It contends the new NHCC board, along with its chairman and a state-appointed finance official, leaked to journalists that Ryan and other outgoing NUMC executives had run up a $1,500 tab at the Lobster Club in Midtown the night before the state takeover—a claim the filing calls categorically false. The respondents in the suit, including the Hochul-aligned board, have denied wrongdoing in the past and said the restructuring was necessary to advance priorities and safeguard the hospital’s future. Ryan’s lawyers argued the tab leak was part of a political smear campaign, not a factual reflection of hospital spending.

The suit further alleges that after the June 2025 board appointment, the NHCC’s leadership moved to undermine Ryan by revoking severance protections and by pursuing mischaracterizations of her tenure. It claims the interim CEO was granted a base salary about 28% higher than Ryan’s, a discrepancy the complaint frames as evidence of gender-based pay inequity. Ryan’s attorney, Alex Hartzband, said the lawsuit seeks to correct what he described as a pattern of "false accusations" leveled against Ryan to score political points ahead of the November elections.

The NHCC and Hochul’s office have declined to comment on the litigation. Hochul spokespeople have previously defended the restructured board as necessary to restore fiscal and operational stability to the hospital, while noting the board is focused on accountability and safeguarding essential community services. A representative for NHCC did not respond to requests for comment by publication.

The broader context for this dispute centers on the Medicaid funding struggle and the governance changes at NUMC. Nassau County’s only public hospital has faced financial pressures in an era of shifting state funding and healthcare reform. The December 2024 and June 2025 actions described in Ryan’s complaint reflect a wider dispute over how Medicaid dollars are allocated and controlled within the state’s public hospitals, and how leadership turnover may affect strategic negotiations with the state.

The complaint highlights Ryan’s role in challenging Medicaid funding denials and asserts that the subsequent disruptions in leadership, staffing, and procurement followed a coordinated effort to undercut her authority and erase her perceived leverage in negotiations with state officials. Ryan’s filing contends NHCC’s board awarded more than $10 million in no-bid contracts, arguing the grants violated state procurement and public officers’ laws. In response, Hochul’s representatives have defended the hospital’s governance reforms as a necessary step to protect taxpayer funds and ensure continuity of patient care in a system facing fiscal constraints.

The case adds to a growing list of disputes involving state-appointed officials and public hospitals in New York, where governance changes have been framed by proponents as necessary for accountability and fiscal health, while critics argue they can politicize hospital operations and affect employment protections. The lawsuit’s timing, coming in a year with high political stakes for state leadership, underscores the fragile balance between oversight and stable management in a hospital that serves a medically vulnerable population.