CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre refused to attend subpoena hearing, continues to defy HELP Committee’s demands

WATCH: Health providers, advocates speak on Steward’s destructive mismanagement

Washington (September 12, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health, and Retirement Security, today joined Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and the members of the HELP Committee in a hearing titled, “Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care,” after voting on July 25^th to subpoena Steward CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre to testify in front of the committee. Dr. de la Torre refused to attend the hearing. Senator Markey then led a press conference following the hearing, joined by union leaders representing Steward workers, health providers, and advocates.

“Today, we had a hearing with an empty chair that Dr. Ralph de la Torre, CEO of Steward Health Care, was under legal order to fill. Ralph de la Torre is a coward. He is using his blood-soaked gains to hide behind corporate lawyers instead of responding to the United States Senate HELP Committee’s demand for answers to how he could unleash such callous cruelty on the communities he promised to serve,” said Senator Markey. “Since Ralph de la Torre has shown only contempt for our health care system, its patients, and workers, the United States Senate must hold him in contempt.”

“Ralph de la Torre is just one more rich guy who thinks he’s above the law. After driving Steward’s hospitals into bankruptcy while living large at patients’ expense, Dr. de la Torre is pulling out all the stops to weasel out of accountability. A congressional subpoena is a legal order, not an optional invite. Dr. de la Torre must be held in contempt of Congress for his refusal to show up and held accountable for the damage he’s done to patients, workers, and communities in Massachusetts and across the country,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

“Steward Health Care’s financial collapse is a flagrant example of what happens when corporate greed runs unchecked—cutting corners and maximizing profits at the expense of workers and the communities they serve. Nearly 30,000 employees kept these hospitals afloat and their patients alive while Ralph de la Torre lined his pockets. These hard-working people deserve better than to be left in limbo while Wall Street walks away with millions. We’re calling on the Department of Labor to step in and ensure that these workers and retirees get the paychecks and benefits they’ve rightfully earned,” said Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.).

“Hospitals in our communities should be in the business of serving patients, not as profit centers for private equity and billionaire corporations,” said Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). “Across Oregon, these entities put profits first—with one clinic reportedly losing dozens of physicians and subsequently kicking out thousands of patients after it was purchased. We need to take on greedy corporate executives who are using sick people to turn healthy profits.”

“We need federal legislation, Health Over Wealth, to pass. We need Ralph de la Torre to be held accountable for what’s happened, and what hasn’t happened, the lives that could have been saved, and the trauma that could have been avoided. I’m so grateful that the U.S. Senate is finally raising the flag to say, we can’t do this anymore. We need to reel in corporate greed, pass legislation that will prevent this from happening again, and get back to taking really good care of our patients and our communities,” said Ellen MacInnis R.N., Nurse at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Boston, MA.

“Steward Health Care systematically extracted every possible dollar they could get out of our hospital until it led to its closure on August 31. Since Steward’s ownership, I have witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of the company’s practices of reducing overhead to financially benefit their stakeholders and their CEO with no regard for the patients, the impact on patients and their care, their family, and our staff. Steward’s greed has put lives at risks and their actions will kill people,” said Audra Sprague, R.N., Former Nurse at Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Lunenburg, MA.

“Hospital closures are terrible for communities that rely on care to keep them safe and healthy. They eliminate healthcare, they eliminate jobs, and they hurt the economy. Our nurses at Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital, a Steward Health-run facility show up for work and care for their patients every day despite Hillside’s possible closure, but Steward CEO Ralph de la Torre won’t show up to testify before Congress. Where’s his accountability? Legislators, our healthcare workforce, and the patients who need Hillside are entitled to answers, including about Steward’s financial dealings and management and about what’s being done to mitigate the damage and prevent future closures in the eight other states where Steward operates. Thanks to Senators Markey and Sanders for standing up for the people who need care, and the people who provide it, and for making sure corporate profits don’t come at the expense of patient care, and worker safety,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

“Steward’s disdain for the American people is perfectly reflected in the fact that their CEO is refusing to show up before Congress—even at risk of jail time—and answer for pocketing huge profits while patients and communities suffer. Greed is king in health care in America and Steward’s rampant abuses are a prime example of just how bad things can get when profit is put ahead of patients. We need to make massive reforms to our health care system and Senator Markey’s Health Over Wealth Act is a great place to start as we work toward passing Medicare for All,” said Lisa Gilbert, Co-President of Public Citizen.

“My message is clear: we cannot allow private equity’s role in health care to go unchecked. Congress must act to put in place safeguards that protect patients and workers when private equity firms buy hospitals, go bankrupt and abandon the communities they serve. The negative impact on Trumbull Regional Medical Center is a stark example of what happens when profits are prioritized over people,” said Tom Connelly, Registered Nurse at Trumbull Regional Medical Center, and President of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2026.

“Ralph de la Torre and Steward’s investors must be held accountable to the hospital deserts they’ve created and health inequities they’ve exacerbated. Healthcare workers kept showing up for work at Steward's hospitals even when it was unclear whether or not they'd be paid what they were owed. For Massachusetts to fully turn the page on Steward’s greed and mismanagement, we urge elected officials to take action to protect our healthcare system from the whims of private equity funds and hedge fund financiers who seek to squeeze out profits by limiting care and stretching workers thin,” said Tim Foley, Executive Vice President, 1199SEIU.

“Instead of healing our communities, the rapid growth of private equity and consolidation in our nation's health system is making people sicker. By prioritizing revenue over health and economic wellbeing, for-profit health care entities are deepening health inequities by making care more costly, less safe, and out of reach for people,” said Michelle Sternthal, Director of Government Affairs, Community Catalyst. “With our partners, we are highlighting the harm to patients, communities, and our nation's health due to private equity and the concentration of power by a few players. Now, more than ever, policymakers need to listen to their constituents and implement protections for those seeking care. The Health Over Wealth legislation is an important step in that direction.”

“The management decisions at Steward drained safety net hospitals of cash, leaving them unable to provide medical care to their majority low-income, Black, and Latine, and Medicare and Medicaid patients. Chair Sanders and Senator Markey, and the communities organizing against these closures, are drawing much needed attention to how private equity firms like Cerberus pillage life-saving hospitals. The Steward health crisis is not an isolated incident; people across the country are paying attention. Three quarters of voters -- a very bipartisan group -- are worried about Wall Street firms owning healthcare companies, including hospitals, according to the latest poll from Americans for Financial Reform,” said Aliya Sabharwal, Private Equity Campaign Manager, Americans for Financial Reform.

Senator Markey has consistently advocated for transparency and accountability for private equity in health care amidst the Steward hospital crisis.

On July 31, 2024, Senator Markey sent a letter to Steward Health Care, Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (MPT), and Macquarie Investment Partners (MIP), regarding Steward Health Care’s announced closure of Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center and the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. The letter was included with Massachusetts Nurses Association’s pleading before the Texas Southern District Bankruptcy Court objecting to Steward’s emergency motion to close Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Center.

Also in July, Senator Markey spoke at a press conference after Steward announced the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer and Carney Hospital in Dorchester. Earlier in the month, Senator Markey was joined by fifteen bipartisan colleagues in voting to subpoena Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre to compel him to appear before the HELP Committee on September 12 and answer for the business practices of Steward Health and the role private equity and real estate investment trusts played in its bankruptcy. This was the first time the Senate HELP Committee had issued a subpoena since 1981.

On July 25, Senator Markey and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) introduced the Health Over Wealth Act, legislation that would put safeguards in place to protect workers, patients, and health care quality, access, and safety; create stronger accountability measures for corporate greed; and close tax loopholes that benefit real estate investment trusts making money off of health care property.

At a Boston field hearing he chaired in April on the Steward crisis and the role of corporate greed in health care, Senator Markey released his new legislative agenda calling for transparency and accountability for private equity in health care; protecting patients, providers, and workers; and guaranteeing health care for all. Despite numerous invitations from Senator Markey, including a joint invitation from Senators Markey and Warren, to testify at the hearing, Dr. de la Torre refused.

View a full timeline of Senator Markey’s actions on private equity in health care HERE.

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