The Mount Sinai Health System in New York City is one of New York State's largest hospital networks.[1] It was formed in September 2013 by merging the operations of Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center.[2][3]
As of 2025, the Health System includes more than 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 10 free-standing joint venture centers, including 5 endoscopy centers, 4 outpatient surgery centers, and 1 urgent care joint venture. It has ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester County, and Long Island, along with more than 30 affiliated community health centers.[6]
In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the Health System employed more than 48,000 people and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai had 48 multidisciplinary research, educational, and clinical institutes.[7] In addition, the Health System reported 3,221 beds among its seven hospitals as well as 147,597 inpatient admissions, 476,027 Emergency Department visits, and more than 13,940 babies delivered[6]
History
The Mount Sinai Health System began as a single hospital, founded in 1852 and opened in 1855 as the Jews' Hospital. In 1864, the hospital became formally nonsectarian and, in 1866, changed its name to The Mount Sinai Hospital. The hospital is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the U.S. The hospital campus is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, beside Central Park.[8]
In 1881, the Mount Sinai Hospital established a training school for doctors and nurses. Prior to its establishment it had been served by untrained male and female attendants.[9][10] The school closed in September 1971 amid financial difficulties and a failed plan to affiliate with the City College of New York. The charter was taken up by The Mount Sinai Hospital School of Continuing Education in Nursing, founded in the fall of 1975.[11]
In 1963 The Mount Sinai Hospital chartered The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the first medical school to grow out of a non-university in more than 50 years.[9] The school opened to students in 1968 and in 2012 changed its name to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.[12] The school and the hospital together formed the Mount Sinai Health Center.
In 1993, Astoria General Hospital located on 30th Avenue in Astoria, Queens, became an affiliate of The Mount Sinai Hospital. A year later the hospital's name changed to Western Queens Community Hospital. In 1999, the hospital was purchased by Mount Sinai and had its name changed again, this time to Mount Sinai Queens, becoming the first community hospital to bear the Mount Sinai name.[10][13]
In May 2017, Modern Healthcare reported that issues of improper billing were being attributed to Mount Sinai by government health care officials. At the time, Mount Sinai officials admitted to partial misconduct and offered to cover limited billing claims retroactively.[16] The same year, Mount Sinai West entered into a settlement concerning the improper disclosure of patient medical records and paid a fine of $387,000.[17]
Mount Sinai and four members of its leadership were named as a defendant in an April 2019 lawsuit on behalf of eight then-current and then-former employees, alleging age and sex discrimination at its Arnhold Institute for Global Health.[18][19] They were also accused of misallocating funds, lying to financial donors, and violating federal regulations. In May 2019, more than 150 students at the Icahn School signed a letter, addressed to the Board of Trustees, calling on Mount Sinai to further investigate allegations of gender and age discrimination as a result of the legal filing.[20] In July 2023, the New York County Supreme Court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims.[21]
A conflict between Mount Sinai Health System and UnitedHealthcare stemmed from a breakdown in contract negotiations over reimbursement rates. Mount Sinai argued it was being underpaid—30–50% less than other New York systems—and sought major increases. United countered that the hikes would add hundreds of millions in costs.[citation needed] When talks stalled, UnitedHealthcare removed six Mount Sinai hospitals from its network on January 1, 2024, leaving 1.3 million patients suddenly out-of-network. This forced many to pay higher costs or switch providers, disrupting care for those with ongoing treatments and chronic conditions.[22] The parties reached a deal on March 19, 2024, restoring in-network access. Leaders on both sides presented it as a victory for patients.[23][24]
Continuum Health Partners
Continuum Health Partners logo
On January 9, 1997, St. Luke's-Roosevelt and Beth Israel Medical Center formed Greater Metropolitan Health Systems, Inc., renamed Continuum Health Partners in April 1998, which became the parent corporation while the two hospital centers remained separate entities with their own hospital campuses.[25]
With a combined annual operating budget of $2.1 billion, Continuum hospitals operated nearly 3,100 certified beds across seven major facilities in Manhattan and Brooklyn and provided outpatient care in private practice settings and ambulatory centers, serving patients in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Westchester County.[26]
In April 2010, Aetna notified policyholders that it was in a contract dispute with Continuum Health Partners and that the contract would lapse as of June 5, 2010. The June 5 date passed and the contract lapsed.[27] Continuum Health Partners provided subscribers with a form to request that Aetna retain their physicians for one year or until the policy period ended.[28] On July 28, 2010, Continuum Health Partners announced a new agreement with Aetna. Within this agreement, it was noted that the effective date would be retroactive to the April 5, 2010, termination date.[29]
In September 2013, Continuum Health Partners announced a merger with the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Brand unification was complete in January 2014.[30]
↑"Mount Sinai asked to return $41.9 million in Medicare overpayments," By Mara Lee, May 3, 2017. Modern Healthcare journal.
↑"Mount Sinai St. Luke's agrees to $387k HIPAA settlement after 'careless' disclosure of HIV status," written by Jessica Kim Cohen. May 24, 2017. Becker Hospital Review.
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