Sanders and HELP Committee Announce Bipartisan Hearing on Steward Health Care Will Move Forward

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today announced the committee will move forward with its hearing on Steward Health Care’s disastrous bankruptcy, despite CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre’s refusal this week to comply with a bipartisan subpoena compelling his testimony. The committee will hear from patients, medical professionals, and community members whose lives have been impacted by Dr. de la Torre.

“Working with private equity vultures, Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre has made hundreds of millions of dollars ripping off patients and health care providers across the country,” said Chairman Sanders. “This outrageous display of corporate greed has resulted in more than 30 Steward hospitals in eight states being forced to declare bankruptcy, putting patients and communities at risk.

“This is unacceptable.

“Dr. de la Torre will be held accountable for his greed and the damage he has caused the American people and our nation’s health care system. Is it my hope that Dr. de la Torre will do the right thing, change his mind, and join our hearing to provide testimony? Yes. But let me be clear: With or without him, this hearing is going forward. We will expose his fraud, and put his greed on display. I look forward to hearing from patients, medical professionals, and community members whose lives have been upended by Dr. de la Torre and his private equity cronies.”

Details
What: Hearing of the Senate HELP Committee on, “Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care”
When: 10:00 a.m., Thursday, September 12, 2024
Where: Room 562, Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing will also be livestreamed on the HELP Committee’s website and Sanders’ social media pages.
Who: Patients, medical professionals, and community members affected by Dr. de la Torre’s Steward Health Care