New York City’s public hospital system, the largest municipal healthcare provider in the United States, announced it will not renew its contract with Palantir Technologies when the agreement expires in October 2026. NYC Health + Hospitals president Dr. Mitchell Katz testified before the city council that the contract was always intended to be short-term and focused on recovering money for insurance claims.
Contract documents obtained through public records requests show that NYC Health + Hospitals has paid Palantir nearly $4 million since November 2023. The agreement gave Palantir access to review notes about patients’ health to help the hospital claim more public benefits through programs such as Medicaid. A provision in the contract also states that with permission from the city agency, Palantir can de-identify patients’ protected health information and use it for purposes other than research.
That de-identification clause has drawn sharp criticism from data privacy experts. Sharona Hoffman, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, noted that de-identification is no longer the guarantee it once was, and that AI capabilities are making it easier to re-identify information. Ari Ezra Waldman of UC Irvine expressed concern about the contract allowing data use for purposes other than research, suggesting the government either lacked bargaining power or failed to recognize the risk during negotiations.
The decision comes as Palantir faces parallel scrutiny in the United Kingdom over its 330 million pound agreement with the National Health Service. A March 12 briefing by health justice charity Medact warned that Palantir’s software could enable data-driven state abuses of power. As of mid-2025, fewer than half of UK health authorities had begun using Palantir’s technology amid community and physician concerns.
NYC Health + Hospitals said it will transition to systems built entirely in-house, with no data shared with Palantir after the contract expires. The outcome represents a tangible win for the Purge Palantir campaign, a coalition of nurses, pro-Palestinian activists, and social justice groups that has pressured government agencies to sever ties with the company. Organizers are now hoping the New York decision strengthens parallel campaigns opposing Palantir’s NHS contract in the UK.
