Westbank Louisiana News

The U.S. Senate has unanimously voted to hold Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre in criminal contempt for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena. This decision follows a bipartisan vote of 20-0 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee last week.

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), ranking member of the HELP Committee, and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chair of the HELP Committee, issued a joint statement regarding the matter. They stated: "The Committee sought testimony about the financial decisions made by Dr. de la Torre as CEO of Steward Health Care 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." The senators further emphasized that "if you defy a Congressional subpoena, you will be held accountable."

In July, after repeated refusals from Dr. de la Torre to cooperate with their investigation into Steward's financial mismanagement, the HELP Committee decided on a bipartisan basis to issue a subpoena for his testimony.

Senator Cassidy highlighted several issues during his remarks before the Senate vote. He noted that Steward’s mismanagement had significant implications nationwide, impacting patient care at more than 30 hospitals across eight states. Specific incidents included limited resources at Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, LA, which led to one patient's death while waiting for transfer due to insufficient treatment resources.

A report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revealed that conditions at Glenwood were so dire that a physician described them as "third-world medicine." Similar problems were reported at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston due to understaffing and unpaid vendors leading to severe consequences for patient care.

Senator Cassidy stressed that understanding Dr. de la Torre's management decisions was crucial for addressing these issues: "To better understand and hopefully prevent this situation from happening again, we sought answers from Dr. de la Torre on his financial decisions that led to the downfall of Steward hospitals."

Despite initial indications from Dr. de la Torre's lawyers that he would comply with the subpoena, he ultimately refused just days before his scheduled testimony date on September 4th.

Cassidy concluded by urging his colleagues: "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."