Steward CEO resigns, files lawsuit against Senate HELP Committee alleging violation of constitutional rights
An empty chair held for Steward Health CEO Ralph de la Torre, M.D., during a Sept. 12 hearing, for which he did not answer Senate leaders’ summons.
By Dave Muoio Sep 30, 2024 –
Ralph de la Torre, M.D., is stepping down from his roles as chair and CEO of the bankrupt for-profit health system Steward Health Care and suing federal lawmakers for allegedly violating his Fifth Amendment rights, a representative for the executive confirmed.
De la Torre, whose resignation is effective Oct. 1., has become a focal point for critics of the health system’s financial management. Lawmakers, local leaders and labor groups have pointed to the more than $200 million in total compensation he had claimed in the few years before Steward declared bankruptcy in May.
“While Dr. de la Torre has amicably separated from Steward on mutually agreeable terms, he will continue to be a tireless advocate for the improvement of reimbursement rates for the underprivileged patient population,” his representative said in an emailed statement. “Dr. de la Torre urges continued focus on this mission and believes Steward’s financial challenges put a much-needed spotlight on Massachusetts’s ongoing failure to fix its healthcare structure and the inequities in its state system.”
The resignation plans were disclosed to press on Saturday, and come just after the Senate gave unanimous consent to hold de la Torre in contempt for skipping out on a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing to which he was subpoenaed. De la Torre, through legal representation, said that testifying would hamper the health system’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and invoked his Fifth Amendment rights on Sept. 4.
On Monday morning the executive pushed back, filing a lawsuit against the HELP Committee seeking a declaratory judgment that he cannot be compelled to comply or punished for asserting his constitutional rights, as well as injunctions prohibiting enforcement of the subpoena or other punishment.
