Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, issued the following statement after Steward Health Care filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy:

“As the state and our federal delegation work overtime to respond to Steward’s bankruptcy filing, the most important thing for patients and families to know is that their hospitals remain open and ready to care for you. There are thousands of dedicated physicians, nurses, and support personnel at Steward facilities who are working around the clock to make sure every single patient can get the care they need, and today’s filing does not change that.”

“It’s clearer than ever that while Steward leaders spent the last decade publicly touting their hospitals as affordable community options, they deployed a devastating private equity business model behind closed doors focused on extracting every last cent of profit from facilities that serve working class communities. Ralph de la Torre and Steward executives paid themselves hundreds of millions of dollars, and they did so by racking up debt they knew they could never repay, even if it meant the closure of vital community hospitals in gateway cities across the Commonwealth. They should not be allowed to wash their hands of this crisis they created, and if that takes legislative action at the state or federal level, we will be ready to act.”

“As we continue to confront this crisis, I’m grateful to Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, and Secretary Walsh who have worked tirelessly to prepare for this moment. Together, we are committed to doing everything possible to keep our community hospitals open and serving patients, and to emerge from this crisis stronger than before.”

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