The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions launched an investigation into the bankruptcy of privately owned hospital network Steward Health. The committee voted to compel the company's CEO, Ralph de la Torre, MD, to testify at a public hearing.

Steward, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in May, is attempting to sell its 31 hospitals in bankruptcy. Senator Bernie Sanders, chair of the committee, issued a subpoena stating that de la Torre had made "huge sums of money" while the company cut medical services. Sanders said that de la Torre "epitomizes the type of outrageous corporate greed that is permeating throughout our for-profit healthcare system."

According to Sanders, de la Torre purchased a $40 million yacht, a $15 million fishing boat, and two corporate jets while hospitals under his management shut down, eliminating hundreds of jobs and reducing access to medical care in rural areas.

The committee voted 20-1 to issue a subpoena to de la Torre after he declined previous invitations to testify about Steward's downfall. The committee intends to ask about risks to U.S. patients as well as Steward's ill-fated expansion into Malta, which spurred a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into possible violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Maltese prosecutors have pursued bribery and corruption charges over the privatization effort.

The committee's top Republican, Bill Cassidy, said that the subpoena was not taken lightly and that patients' lives are at risk. Cassidy cited an example of a Massachusetts woman who died after giving birth because doctors realized mid-surgery that supplies needed to treat her had been repossessed due to Steward's financial troubles.

Sanders also blamed Steward's former private equity owner Cerberus Capital Management for the company's downfall, while Cassidy said Cerberus should not be blamed for the company's missteps, noting that it had exited its investment in 2020.