Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Last Wednesday, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and labor leaders from 1199SEIU and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) held a press conference in response to Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre’s refusal to appear at the September 12 Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing titled “Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care.” Senator Markey, HELP Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and their bipartisan colleagues on the 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. 

“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. 

“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. 

“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. 

For months, Trahan has been doing everything in her power to support Steward-operated hospitals in the Third District while also holding executives like Ralph de la Torre accountable for their role in this crisis. On August 26th, Trahan sent a letter urging Steward executives to provide the more than 1200+ workers facing impending layoffs with severance pay and accumulated time off they are owed. On July 30th, Trahan wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting that they investigate actions by Steward Health Care that led to the company’s bankruptcy and proposed closure of hospitals. In April, Trahan led the Massachusetts delegation in a letter to the leaders of private equity-owned Steward Health Care and UnitedHealth Group requesting answers on the future of care in Massachusetts following the proposed sale of Steward’s physician group, Stewardship Health, to UnitedHealth-owned Optum Health. 

Earlier in April, Trahan secured a commitment from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, the nation’s top health official, to work with Massachusetts leaders as they continue responding to the Steward Health Care crisis. In February, Trahan led the introduction of bipartisan legislation to direct additional federal funding to local, nonprofit safety net hospitals that would be directly impacted by the closure of Steward facilities in Massachusetts. Trahan was one of the first leaders to sound the alarm on Steward in January by both writing a letter demanding answers from Steward and raising concerns during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. 

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