Senator Markey Slams Steward CEO, Demands de la Torre Take Accountability for Steward’s Failures

Markey to de la Torre: "You should be held in contempt if you fail to appear. You should be fired from your position as CEO. You should lose your medical degree. And the millions you made off of Steward should go to repairing the health system you broke."

Boston (September 5, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health, and Retirement Security, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), and labor leaders from 1199SEIU and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) today held a press conference in response to Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre's refusal to appear at the September 12 HELP Committee hearing titled "Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care." Senator Markey, HELP Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and their bipartisan colleagues on the HELP Committee voted on July 25 to subpoena de la Torre to testify in front of the committee on September 12, the first time the Senate HELP Committee has issued a subpoena since 1981.

"It is long past time that Dr. de la Torre come out of hiding and answer for the harm he's inflicted on our communities. Doctors are supposed to serve their patients, but the only people Dr. de la Torre appears to serve are himself and his corporate executive cronies. Through his cruel disregard for patients and workers in Massachusetts and across the country, Ralph de la Torre has shown contempt for our health care system. Now, I am calling for the United States Senate to hold him in contempt," said Senator Markey.

"Ralph de la Torre spent nearly 20 years sucking every last bit of value out of the Steward hospitals. Throughout it all, as the hospitals got poorer, Dr. de la Torre got richer. Law enforcement authorities need to investigate Dr. de la Torre for possible criminal activities - and we need to pass my Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act to make sure that the next set of greedy private equity firms and health care executives can't inflict the same damage," said Senator Warren.

"Today, I was proud to stand in solidarity with the communities impacted by Steward Health's reckless actions, which have devastated essential hospitals like Nashoba Valley Medical Center and Holy Family Hospitals. These hospitals are lifelines for families, and it's unacceptable that executives prioritized profits over patient care, funneling millions into personal luxuries while communities suffered. Even more concerning, when called to appear before Congress to address this harm, Ralph de la Torre refused to do so. I remain committed to restoring access to healthcare for all impacted communities, ensuring accountability for Steward executives' reckless actions, and enacting federal legislation to prevent this from ever happening again," said Congresswoman Trahan.

"The public heath crisis created by Steward Health Care and Ralph De La Torre is shameful, devastating, and it demands full accountability," said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), who represents many patients and workers served by Carney Hospital in Dorchester as well as St Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton. "The patients, workers, and community members harmed by the closure of Carney Hospital deserve answers, and De La Torre's refusal to come before Congress is just the latest in a series of cowardly attempts to avoid responsibility. I'm joining my delegation colleagues in urging him to reverse course, and if he doesn't, he must be held in contempt of Congress."

"The workers who have kept Steward's hospitals running for months, and those who lost their jobs last month as a result of his greed and mismanagement, deserve answers from Ralph de la Torre. It's unconscionable for him to use the bankruptcy?process as an excuse to duck basic accountability and avoid?questions about how he?led Steward into financial ruin while padding his personal bank accounts. 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. De la Torre owes his employees - and the public - the same basic respect," said Tim Foley, 1199SEIU Executive Vice President.

"As Ralph de la Torre lived his life of the rich and famous, our patients, many of them the poorest and most vulnerable among us, saw services they needed closed or severely diminished. His behavior is disgusting and loathsome, and I join Senator Markey in calling for this greedy coward to be held accountable for the suffering he has caused, and the damage he has done to our health care system in Massachusetts," said Ellen MacInnis, R.N., nurse at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and Member on the Massachusetts Nurses Association Board of Directors.

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.

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