Boston (May 6, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, released the following statement on news that Steward Health Care is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

“Steward CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre and his private equity allies put the Massachusetts health care system at risk when they made reckless decisions that put investor profit over people’s lives and livelihoods, ultimately leading to this bankruptcy. Dr. de la Torre, Steward Health Care, and Cerberus Capital Management will be remembered not for improving access to care or saving the non-profit hospitals they purchased, but for their unforgivable abdication of responsibility to the people they promised to serve.

“Steward-owned hospitals remain open, and the health care providers in them are working hard to provide the best possible care to their patients. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is keeping a watchful eye on quality of care, and I am working with the Healey-Driscoll administration to ensure patients continue to get the care they need and deserve.

“Despite the overwhelming evidence demonstrating corporate greed’s role in this bankruptcy, Steward, Cerberus, and Medical Properties Trust will do everything in their power to escape blame and accountability, as will other private equity firms running the same game of greed and mismanagement at hospitals across the United States. We cannot let them get away with it. I will continue to fight for accountability, transparency, and protections for patients and providers. My Health over Wealth Act would put essential guardrails in place to protect communities against the negative consequences of for-profit forces, including private equity, and strengthen the health system to prevent what happened with Steward from happening again.”

At a Boston field hearing he chaired in April, 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. As part of his legislative agenda, Senator Markey released a discussion draft of his Health over Wealth Act. Despite numerous invitations from Senator Markey to testify at the hearing, Dr. de la Torre refused. In January 2024, following a Boston Globe report revealing Steward Health Care System’s dire financial condition, Senators Markey and Warren led the Massachusetts delegation in a letter to Steward pressing them on their financial position, the status of their facilities in Massachusetts, and their plans to ensure the communities they serve are not abandoned. On March 7, Senators Markey and Warren sent a letter to Dr. de la Torre requesting financial information, including executive compensation, financial statements, Steward’s arrangement with Medical Properties Trust, repayment of debts to Massachusetts, Steward merger and acquisition activity, and loans from Brigade, Soundpoint, and other lenders in 2023.

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