Northwell Health - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Northwell Health is High Risk.

Northwell Health is High Risk. The company yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Northwell Health embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	High Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	High Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	Lower Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

In May 2025, Northwell Health merged with Nuvance Health, forming Northwell Health. Prior to the merger, Northwell Health and Nuvance Health had a history of divisive corporate policies and practices. It is unclear whether these causes or policies were retained, modified, or discontinued by Northwell Health (1). The company fired 1,400 employees for refusing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus (2). Northwell Health has multiple locations featured on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index. Twenty-five hospitals and health centers received a perfect score of 100 and are “Equality Leaders,” which includes having at least one healthcare plan covering “gender transition-related treatment” for employees, among other requirements (3)(4)(5).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Nuvance Health will not fund “religious events or organizations” (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Northwell Health offers unconscious bias training to its employees (1). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (2)(3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Northwell Health opposed Georgia’s voting integrity bill (1)(2). The company features an article on its website that advocates for transgender treatment and puberty blockers in youth, and further goes on to criticize legislation against these practices (3). Northwell Health was a signatory of the Health Sector Pledge, committing itself to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Signatories were expected to develop and release a climate resilience plan and appoint a corporate executive to oversee its implementation (4). The company’s CEO Michael Dowling signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace, strategize on DEI programs/initiatives with other signatories, and engage boards of directors when developing and evaluating DEI strategies (5)(6). Northwell Health advocates for LGBTQ activism engagement, including for minors, and speaks out against state laws that prevent transgender work on minors (7)(8). Nuvance Health has published pieces outlining medical treatment options for “Gender-Diverse & Transgender Children,” among other related resources on its site (9)(10). The company provides an LGBTQIA+ Interdisciplinary Task Force using practices from the Healthcare Equality Index and publicly celebrates Pride Month on its social media platforms (11).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Northwell Health has a perfect score on the HRC’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index. This score indicates the company covers the cost of “medically necessary transition-related care” for its employees and their children (1)(2)(3). The company is a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (4). Northwell Health is a Bronze Sponsor of NYC Pride (5). Nuvance Health funded the Triangle Community Center, which hosts a “Transgender and Gender-Questioning Youth Forum,” and the Dutchess County Pride Center, which hosts “Youth Pride” events (6)(7)(8). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Northwell Health using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (9)(10).