Bankrupt Steward Health Care is back in the spotlight Thursday morning after CEO Ralph de la Torre said he won't testify before a Senate committee in Washington.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is demanding answers behind the hospital system's collapse.
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"Ralph de la Torre's excuses are as empty as his chair was at my April 3 hearing," Sen. Ed Markey said Thursday during a press conference. "He's in hiding because he does not want to answer to the American people or Congress or the patients and workers of Massachusetts for what he has done."
Markey added that de la Torre wants to hide from the accountability of what the last five months have exposed. He says Congress should bring contempt charges against the CEO.
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"Ralph de la Torre has shown contempt for our healthcare system," said Markey. "The Senate health committee must vote to hold de la Torre in criminal or civil contempt or both, and then the full Senate must vote to refer this recommendation to haul de la Torre into court."
Back in May, Steward filed for bankruptcy, saying it had more than $9 billion in liabilities. At that time, the senate committee requested de la Torre to testify and offer up an explanation as to how this happened.
He didn't honor those requests. As a result, the committee, headed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, subpoenaed him.
In de la Torre's most recent response through his attorney, he said it would be "wholly inappropriate" to testify before his company's bankruptcy proceedings are resolved.
"Ralph de la Torre lived in luxury at the expense of workers and patients at Steward hospitals," Gov. Maura Healey wrote on social media Thursday. "His refusal to testify before the Senate is shameful, but it's not shocking."
Healey went on to say that Massachusetts residents "deserve answers" and that de la Torre "must be held accountable."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren says de la Torre "seems to think he's above the law."
"Ralph de la Torre is one more rich guy who thinks the rules don't apply to him," Warren said Thursday. "He thinks...he can take whatever he wants and not have to answer for any of the destruction that he leaves behind."
Warren continued to say that as the Steward hospitals got poorer, de la Torre got richer.
A federal judge overseeing the case approved the sale of six Steward hospitals on Wednesday.
Approved was Steward's plan to sell St. Anne's Hospital in Fall River and Morton Hospital in Taunton to Lifespan for $175 million; the Holy Family Hospital facilities in Methuen and Haverhill to Lawrence General Hospital for $28 million, and Good Samaritan Medical Center and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center to Boston Medical Center for as much as $140 million.
Steward closed its other two hospitals here, Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, on Saturday.
The sales are expected to close by the end of this month.
Steward is hoping the state provides funding to help keep the hospitals open from now until then.
De la Torre didn't rule out appearing before Congress eventually.
