Steward Well being Care CEO Ralph de la Torre gained’t adjust to a subpoena to seem earlier than a U.S. Senate committee that’s investigating the hospital firm’s chapter, his legal professionals stated Wednesday.
De la Torre wants to stay silent to respect an ongoing hospital reorganization and settlement effort, his legal professionals stated in a letter to Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate Well being, Schooling, Labor and Pensions Committee. A federal courtroom order prohibits de la Torre from discussing something throughout mediation, the legal professionals stated.
The Dallas-based Steward, which operated about 30 hospitals nationwide, together with greater than a half-dozen in Massachusetts, declared chapter earlier this 12 months. It has been making an attempt to promote its hospitals in Massachusetts, however acquired insufficient bids for 2 of them: Carney Hospital in Boston and Nashoba Valley Medical Middle within the city of Ayer, each of which closed final weekend.
A federal chapter courtroom on Wednesday permitted the sale of Steward’s different hospitals in Massachusetts.
Legal professionals for de la Torre stated the U.S. Senate committee is searching for to show the listening to into “a pseudo-criminal continuing through which they use the time, to not collect info, however to convict Dr. de la Torre within the eyes of public opinion.”
“It’s not inside this Committee’s purview to make predeterminations of alleged prison misconduct below the auspices of an examination into Steward’s chapter proceedings, and the truth that its Members have already completed so smacks of a veiled try to sidestep Dr. de la Torre’s constitutional rights,” the letter stated.
De la Torre didn’t rule out testifying earlier than the committee at a later date.
Sanders stated in an announcement that he’ll be working with different members of the panel to find out one of the best ways to press de la Torre for solutions.
“Let me be clear: We won’t settle for this postponement. Congress will maintain Dr. de la Torre accountable for his greed and for the harm he has brought about to hospitals and sufferers all through America,” Sanders stated. “This Committee intends to maneuver ahead aggressively to compel Dr. de la Torre to testify to the gross mismanagement of Steward Well being Care.”
Massachusetts U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, each Democrats, known as de la Torre’s refusal to seem earlier than the committee subsequent Thursday outrageous.
The committee’s choices embrace holding de la Torre in prison contempt, which may lead to a trial and jail time; or civil contempt, which might lead to fines till he seems. Each would require a Senate vote.
Markey and Warren stated de la Torre owes the general public and Congress solutions and have to be held in contempt if he fails to seem earlier than the committee.
“He received wealthy as personal fairness and actual property vultures picked aside, and drove out of business, hospitals that employed 1000’s of well being care staff who served communities in Massachusetts and throughout the nation,” the 2 stated in a joint assertion.
“De la Torre used hospitals as his private piggy financial institution and lived in luxurious whereas gutting Steward hospitals,” they added.
De la Torre additionally refused invites to testify at a Boston area listening to earlier this 12 months chaired by Markey.
Sanders has stated de la Torre grew to become obscenely rich by loading up hospitals from Massachusetts to Arizona with billions of {dollars} in debt and promoting the land beneath the hospitals to actual property executives who charged unsustainably excessive rents.
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