Sanders, Cassidy request DOJ update on contempt status of former Steward Health Care CEO

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Bill Cassidy and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders have asked Attorney General Todd Blanche for an update on the contempt referral against former Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre. In a letter dated August 6, the Senators noted that the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia had not yet decided to hold de la Torre "criminally accountable for his actions." Cassidy and Sanders requested the update by August 20.

Steward Health Care, which once operated 31 hospitals across eight states, filed for bankruptcy in May 2024. This marked the largest for-profit hospital bankruptcy in U.S. history. The bankruptcy resulted from financial mismanagement and self-interested incentives by de la Torre and other executives in healthcare, private equity, and real estate. The fallout included job losses, patient deaths, and the closure of multiple hospitals, denying access to care.

In response, the HELP Committee launched an investigation into the system's financial management and invited de la Torre to testify at a hearing. De la Torre declined, leading the committee to subpoena him. After he refused to appear, the committee voted 20-0 to hold him in criminal contempt, the first such resolution by the committee in modern U.S. history, according to a press release on August 7.

De la Torte stepped down as CEO and chair in September 2024 and subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Senate HELP Committee for allegedly violating his Fifth Amendment rights. The hospital system has now filed a lawsuit against former leadership, including de la Torre, alleging "greed and bad faith misconduct" that contributed to the bankruptcy.

The system seeks more than $3 billion in legal claims to repay bankruptcy expenses, expected to be resolved by mid-2027.