NC state auditor, others call for delay on vote approving WakeMed-Atrium Health deal

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek is asking the Wake County Board of Commissioners to slow down and delay a scheduled vote tied to the proposed takeover of WakeMed by Atrium Health.

The deal, announced Friday afternoon, would bring WakeMed under Charlotte-based Atrium Health, the state's largest healthcare provider. Commissioners are set to vote Monday on changes to WakeMed's articles of incorporation -- a key step needed for the deal to move forward.

WakeMed says the agreement, pending approvals, would combine the Triangle's largest community-based health system with Atrium Health to expand healthcare access and better serve patients and communities.

In a letter to commissioners sent Sunday, Boliek said the rollout of the deal has raised concerns and lacks transparency.

"The lack of transparency does not instill confidence - in fact, it calls for greater scrutiny and explanation," Boliek wrote. "In the interest of the people of Wake County and all of the citizens in North Carolina, the vote ... currently scheduled for May 4, 2026, should be delayed."

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Other voices weigh in on the merger announcement

Treasurer Brad Briner wrote to the Wake County Board of Commissioners on Saturday asking them delay and reconsider their vote on the WakeMed/Atrium merger. Briner said Sunday that the Board has now indicated they will delay this vote.

See Briner's full letter here.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina released this statement that says in part:

"On behalf of the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC) and the more than
46,000 current state employees, retirees, and their families we represent, I am writing to urge the
Board of Commissioners to vote against the proposed sale of WakeMed Health & Hospitals to
Atrium Health - or, at a minimum, to postpone any vote until the Board has held public
listening sessions and conducted a thorough, transparent assessment of the long-term
consequences of this transaction."

"SEANC represents state employees and retirees across every county in North Carolina - tens of
thousands of whom live and work in Wake County, rely on WakeMed for their care, and are
enrolled in the State Health Plan. The decisions made in this chamber will directly affect those
families' access to care and the cost of their coverage. We ask that their interests be given the
weight they deserve."

Read the full statement here.