A chair with a name card for Ralph de la Torre, MD, chairman and CEO of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, sat empty Sept. 12 after he skipped the bipartisan Senate committee hearing he had been subpoenaed to attend.
The hearing, "Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care," was held by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
HELP Committee member Sen. Bill Cassidy shared during the hearing that eight days earlier, Dr. de la Torre told the committee that he would not comply with the subpoena. The committee then directed him to comply and responded that his objection to the subpoena had no merit.
"A witness cannot disregard and evade a duly authorized subpoena," Mr. Cassidy said. "Therefore, today, the chair and I will be asking the committee to report a resolution to authorize civil enforcement and criminal contempt proceedings against Dr de la Torre requiring compliance subpoena."
Steward sought Chapter 11 protection May 6 and has since been working to offload the remainder of its 31 hospitals.
Dr. de la Torre's absence from the hearing comes as he has faced ample criticism the past few months for lavish vacations and ownership of two multimillion dollar yachts while the for-profit health system's hospitals struggle.
Sen. Ed Markey shared during a Sept. 5 press conference that the Senate must hold a vote to hold Dr. de la Torre in criminal, civil contempt or both, and that the committee will "not stop until he answers for what he has done or is put behind bars."
A spokesperson for Steward shared a Sept. 12 statement with Becker's that detailed how Dr. de la Torre continues to ask for a rescheduling of the meeting and that it would not only be inappropriate for him to testify on Steward bankruptcy matters, but that he is also "prohibited by federal court order and otherwise from doing so."
"The Committee continues to ignore the fact that there is an ongoing settlement effort underway with all interested parties that paves the way to keep all of Steward's remaining hospitals open and preserve jobs," the Steward statement said. "Dr. de la Torre cannot testify or otherwise publicly comment so as not to interfere with this process. Dr. de la Torre will not do anything that could jeopardize this effort."
The HELP committee will vote the week of Sept. 16 on two resolution adoptions. The first will be for civil enforcement and the second will be "for certification to the United States Attorney for criminal contempt," according to a Sept. 12 HELP committee news release shared with Becker's.
"If passed by the committee, both resolutions will be advanced to the full Senate for a vote," the release said. "The resolution for civil enforcement of the subpoena instructs Senate Legal Counsel to bring a civil suit in the District Court for the District of Columbia to require Dr. de la Torre’s compliance with the subpoena and his testimony before the HELP Committee. The criminal contempt resolution would refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to criminally prosecute Dr. de la Torre for failing to comply with the subpoena."
Editor's note: This story was updated at 2:35 p.m. CT.