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On September 12, the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing that examined the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care, a nationwide health system that includes more than 30 hospitals in eight states. Members of the committee heard testimony from former Steward nurses, a Steward community board member, and the Mayor of West Monroe, Louisiana. The witnesses detailed the negative impact of chronic understaffing and shortage of appropriate equipment to treat patients, including the death of a patient tied to the lack of transparency into Steward’s financial distress, and the effect of Steward hospital closures on local communities. Dr. Ralph de la Torre, the CEO of Steward Health Care, did not comply with the committee’s request to testify at the hearing, asking that the committee wait until after the bankruptcy process had concluded. Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) committed to a bipartisan vote next week to enforce a subpoena and hold de la Torre in criminal contempt. Notably, the HELP Committee has not issued a subpoena in over 40 years.
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