Wake County may delay vote on WakeMed merger with Atrium Health. What we know
The Wake County Board of Commissioners may delay its vote to approve WakeMed’s merger with Charlotte-based Atrium Health.
It is on the “consent agenda” portion of Monday’s meeting agenda. The consent agenda is supposed to consist of non-controversial items that can be voted on together, without discussion. An item can be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately if a commissioner requests it.
State Treasurer Brad Briner and state Rep. Mike Schietzelt, who represents northern Wake County, said on social media that the commissioners will not vote on the proposed plan Monday, as scheduled. Schietzelt said in the Sunday social media post that he heard about the decision from a county commissioner.
However, Dara Demi, chief communications officer for Wake County government, told The News & Observer in an email Sunday that the board “has taken no formal action on any items on the May 4 meeting agenda since it was published on Friday.”
State officials share concerns about WakeMed-Atrium merger
The vote would combine two of the state’s largest healthcare systems. WakeMed said the merger would result in a $2 billion investment in the health system, redeveloping and expanding its facilities in Raleigh and Cary, and would create 3,300 new healthcare jobs in Wake County over the next five years, The News & Observer previously reported.
“WakeMed and Atrium Health are united in a shared commitment to serving our communities, and by building upon our complementary strengths, we can have an even greater impact on the health and well-being of Wake County and the entire state,” WakeMed CEO and President Donald Gintzig said in a statement Friday.
Regulators would review the proposed merger before any integration occurred, WakeMed said, and officials from the two healthcare systems would hold a press conference Tuesday to “share information, answer questions, and address any misconceptions.”
However, several state lawmakers and government officials expressed concerns about the merger’s impacts on healthcare affordability.
Briner, the state treasurer, had previously shared concerns about the proposed merger after it became public Friday.
“There is a simple business principle that when suppliers consolidate and competition is reduced it is the consumers who suffer,” Briner said in a Friday statement. “This has been proven to be true time and again in the health care landscape, where prices continue to rise and patients are left with mounting medical debt.”
As of Sunday afternoon, state officials including State Auditor Dave Boliek had expressed concerns about the plan.
“The rollout of the proposed hospital takeover raises questions,” Boliek wrote in a Sunday letter asking for a delay of the vote. “The lack of transparency does not instill confidence, in fact, it calls for greater scrutiny and explanation.”
What is Atrium Health?
Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, the nation’s third-largest nonprofit academic health system. Advocate Health is centered around Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
In 2017, Atrium, then known as Carolinas HealthCare, previously tried to merge with UNC Health, forming one of the biggest nonprofit healthcare networks and academic research centers in the U.S.
Months later, though, the deal came apart over disagreements about who would control the joint operating company that would oversee operations.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
The News & Observer’s Richard Stradling contributed reporting.
This story was originally published May 3, 2026 at 2:19 PM.
