U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders condemned Dr. Ralph de la Torre, CEO of the bankrupt Steward Health Care, for refusing to comply with a bipartisan subpoena compelling him to testify about the company’s financial collapse. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), chaired by Sanders, is investigating Steward’s bankruptcy, which has left over 30 hospitals in crisis, saddled with $9 billion in debt. The company’s failure, according to Sanders, exemplifies the predatory behavior of private equity in the healthcare industry.
Dr. de la Torre, whose wealth soared while his hospitals crumbled, declined to appear before the Senate despite the overwhelming vote to subpoena him. “Perhaps more than anyone else in America, Dr. de la Torre is the poster child for the type of outrageous corporate greed that is permeating through our for-profit healthcare system,” Sanders said in his statement. Steward Health Care, a private equity-backed company, owns hospitals in eight states and is now trying to sell all 31 to pay down its enormous debt.
The HELP committee’s subpoena vote was not just a progressive initiative—10 Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the investigation, which highlights a broader bipartisan concern about the impact of private equity on healthcare. Sanders criticized the business practices that led to Steward’s collapse, accusing de la Torre of collaborating with “private equity vultures” to enrich himself while bankrupting hospitals. “He became obscenely wealthy by loading up hospitals across the country with billions in debt and selling the land underneath these hospitals to real estate executives who charge unsustainably high rent,” Sanders said.
As the hospitals have struggled to stay afloat, Sanders noted that de la Torre purchased a $40 million megayacht while the healthcare facilities under his control failed to pay their bills. With the company in bankruptcy and its future uncertain, Sanders emphasized that the HELP committee would press forward, despite de la Torre’s refusal to testify. “We will not accept this postponement. Congress will hold Dr. de la Torre accountable for his greed and for the damage he has caused to hospitals and patients throughout America,” he vowed.
The consequences of Steward Health Care’s collapse have been far-reaching. As the company faces a massive debt burden, hospitals across multiple states are at risk of closing or significantly reducing services. In Massachusetts, two hospitals have already been forced to shut down. The closure of these healthcare facilities has had a direct impact on patient care, leaving vulnerable communities with fewer options for essential services. Sanders highlighted that private equity’s role in healthcare has often led to disastrous outcomes, noting that Steward’s downfall is a prime example of how financial practices in the industry can lead to severe consequences for public health.
Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democratic senators from Massachusetts and members of the HELP committee, also slammed de la Torre for his refusal to testify. “De la Torre used hospitals as his personal piggy bank and lived in luxury while gutting Steward hospitals,” the senators stated. “De la Torre is as cowardly as he is cruel. He owes the public and Congress answers for his appalling greed—and de la Torre must be held in contempt if he fails to appear before the committee.”
Dr. de la Torre’s attorney, Alexander Merton, defended his client’s refusal to testify, accusing the committee of turning the investigation into a “pseudo-criminal proceeding” aimed at vilifying the Steward CEO in the court of public opinion. Despite this legal pushback, Sanders and other HELP committee members remain determined to pursue answers about Steward’s financial practices and the consequences of its bankruptcy.
The investigation into Steward Health Care comes as part of a broader national reckoning with private equity’s influence on healthcare. The HELP committee’s scrutiny of Steward echoes rising concerns about how private equity-backed companies often prioritize profits over patient care, leading to financial instability and closures of critical hospitals. To counteract these trends, Senators Markey and Pramila Jayapal introduced the Health Over Wealth Act, which would grant the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services the authority to block private equity deals in healthcare that pose risks to public health.
As the probe continues, the potential sale of Steward Health Care’s nationwide physician network to another private equity firm has drawn further criticism from Warren and Markey. “Selling Massachusetts doctors to another private equity firm could be a disaster. We can’t make the same mistake again. Regulators must scrutinize this deal,” Warren stated. There is mounting concern that transferring Steward’s assets to yet another private investor will repeat the same pattern of financial exploitation that led to its collapse.
The HELP committee investigation reflects growing bipartisan frustration with the consequences of private equity in healthcare, a system that Sanders argues has put profit ahead of patient well-being. “It is time for Dr. de la Torre to get off of his $40 million yacht and explain to the American people how much he has gained financially while bankrupting the hospitals he manages,” Sanders concluded.
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