HELP Committee Votes to Hold Steward Health CEO in Contempt for Failure to Comply with Congressional Subpoena

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chair of the HELP Committee, released a joint statement after the Committee voted to hold Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre in contempt for defying a congressional subpoena to testify last week before the Committee. The Committee approved resolutions for civil enforcement and criminal contempt by votes of 20-0.

"The Committee sought testimony about the financial decisions made by Dr. de la Torre as CEO of Steward Health Care. It is essential for our Committee to receive this testimony in order to understand the financial downfall of the company and to inform legislative action to prevent similar events from affecting the patients and communities we represent," said the senators. "Unfortunately, Dr. de la Torre has repeatedly refused to appear before this committee. If you defy a Congressional subpoena, you will be held accountable. We had no choice but to move forward with both civil enforcement of the subpoena and criminal charges against Dr. de la Torre."

Both resolutions require a vote in the full Senate. The resolution for civil enforcement of the subpoena instructs Senate Legal Counsel to bring a civil suit in the District Court for the District of Columbia to require Dr. de la Torre's compliance with the subpoena and his testimony before the HELP Committee. The criminal contempt resolution would refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to criminally prosecute Dr. de la Torre for failing to comply with the subpoena.

In July, the HELP Committee voted on a strong bipartisan basis to subpoena Dr. de la Torre's testimony after his repeated refusal to cooperate with the Committee's investigation into Steward's financial mismanagement of its hospitals.

Click here to watch Cassidy's opening remarks before the Committee vote.

See below for the remarks as prepared for delivery.

Thank you, Chair Sanders.

For months, this Committee, on a bipartisan basis, has investigated the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care and the impact on the delivery of care at its hospitals. Steward's bankruptcy has nationwide implications, affecting patient care in more than 30 hospitals across eight states including Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, LA.

A thorough review of Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ralph de la Torre's management decisions is essential to understand Steward's financial problems and failure to serve its patients.

According to a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a physician at Glenwood told a Louisiana state inspector that the hospital was performing "third-world medicine."

Because of management decisions resulting in limited resources at Glenwood, the state had to force the hospital to operate at one-third its capacity. One patient died waiting for a transfer to another hospital because Glenwood did not have necessary resources to treat.

Unfortunately, the problems at Glenwood are not unique. Audra Sprague, a nurse at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston, testified last week that because of understaffing, patientsat her hospital waited in the emergency room for hours and sometimes days for care. These delays further harmed patients, even leading to the death of a new mother.

We also heard that Steward neglected to pay the vendors for essential hospital supplies. At St. Elizabeth's, when newborn babies died, nurses were forced to put their bodies into cardboard shipping boxes because Steward did not pay for proper bereavement boxes.

Hospitals, like Glenwood, are also essential to the health and financial well-being of the communities they serve. Glenwood was the largest employer in West Monroe and West Ouachita Parish, at one point employing nine percent of the community. At last week's hearing, West Monroe Mayor Staci Mitchell testified that since Glenwood began its layoffs, approximately 450 people have lost jobs at the hospital.

To better understand and hopefully prevent it from happening again, we sought answers from Dr. Ralph de la Torre. That is what our bipartisan work has been about-answers for constituents and to inform legislative solutions.

Unfortunately, Dr. de la Torre refused to testify voluntarily and, as a result, the Committee issued a subpoena in July. Up until September 4, Dr. de la Torre's lawyers indicated he intended to comply with the subpoena and testify. However, eight days before the hearing, Dr. de la Torre informed the committee he would not comply with the subpoena.

We responded to Dr. de la Torre explaining why his objections to the Committee's subpoena had no merit and directed him to comply. Unfortunately, Dr. de la Torre ultimately defied the subpoena and refused to appear before the Committee last week.

A witness cannot disregard and evade a duly authorized subpoena. It is unfortunate that we have gotten to this point. But if someone shows contempt for the American people by defying a subpoena and refusing to provide answers, then that is a contemptible thing. Congress has a responsibility to act.

I appreciate Chair Sanders for his collaboration in this bipartisan investigation. I urge my colleagues to approve these resolutions to hold Dr. de la Torre in contempt.

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