Two major New York City hospital systems have reached agreement to pursue a merger.

The boards of NYU Langone Medical Center and Continuum Health Partners said in a statement Wednesday they agreed to enter into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to determine whether to enter into a formal merger agreement.

Continuum is a network of five hospitals including Beth Israel and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt. NYU Langone is a four-hospital system.

The boards of the two nonprofit organizations said a successful partnership would help reduce health care costs while enhancing the quality of care. They said it also would allow for investment in new facilities.

Any merger would have to be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission and the state Health Department.

(Source WABC)