NYC Hospitals End Palantir Contract as UK Expansion Faces Scrutiny

New York City Health + Hospitals announced it will not renew its contract with Palantir Technologies when it expires in October 2026. The contract, focused on revenue cycle optimization for insurance claims, has cost nearly $4 million since November 2023.

Contract Details and Termination

The Palantir contract allowed the company to review patient health notes to help the hospital claim more money through programs like Medicaid. According to contract documents, Palantir could "de-identify" patients' protected health information with city agency permission and use it for "purposes other than research."

Dr. Mitchell Katz, president of NYC Health + Hospitals, testified that the contract was always meant to be short-term and emphasized an "absolute firewall" preventing Palantir from sharing information with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The hospital system stated it will transition to entirely in-house systems with no data shared with Palantir after contract expiration.

UK Expansion and Controversy

While NYC ends its relationship with Palantir, the company faces growing scrutiny in the UK over:

• A £330 million agreement with the National Health Service (NHS)
• A new contract with the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate internal intelligence data for financial crime detection

As of summer 2025, less than half of UK health authorities had started using Palantir's technology due to concerns from doctors and communities. Health justice charity Medact warned in a March 12 briefing that Palantir's software could enable "data-driven state abuses of power," including US-style ICE raids.

Medact specifically raised concerns about Palantir's ability to access de-identified patient data (data stripped of identifying characteristics like names and social security numbers) and argued NHS data privacy protections are insufficient.

Political Response

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dismissed suggestions that the UK is "dangerously over-reliant" on American tech companies like Palantir but noted he prefers more domestic capability. Liberal Democrats have called for a government investigation into the Financial Conduct Authority contract, and some MPs have urged halting the agreement.

Palantir has denied that NHS data could be used for immigration enforcement, noting it would be illegal and a breach of contract. The company said it would correct "inaccuracies" in the public record but did not elaborate by press time.