The Senate unanimously adopted a resolution on September 25, 2024, authorizing a report about former Steward Health Care chairman and CEO Ralph de la Torre’s refusal to appear before a Senate committee to be certified to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. That referral was not a criminal conviction. In an August 2026 letter, Senate committee leaders said the U.S. Attorney had not yet acted and requested a status update; the available official account does not establish what happened after that deadline.
Why did the Senate hold Ralph de la Torre in contempt?
The Senate action followed de la Torre’s failure to appear at a September 12, 2024, hearing after the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) authorized a subpoena requiring his testimony. The hearing concerned Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy and how management decisions had affected patient care.
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HELP said it wanted to question de la Torre about Steward’s financial decisions, the company’s collapse, and the effects on patients, workers, and communities. Senators Bill Cassidy and Bernie Sanders said the committee sought testimony about decisions he made as Steward’s CEO. The contempt action addressed his failure to appear under subpoena; it did not establish the truth of every claim about Steward’s finances or hospital conditions.
What did the Senate vote on, and what did the resolution do?
The process had distinct committee and Senate stages:
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- July 25, 2024: HELP authorized a subpoena directing de la Torre to appear at its September 12 hearing.
- September 12, 2024: The committee held the hearing, titled “Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care.” De la Torre did not appear.
- September 19, 2024: HELP voted 20–0 on resolutions for civil enforcement and criminal contempt. The civil measure would authorize Senate Legal Counsel to seek a court order requiring compliance; the criminal measure would refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Both measures required a full Senate vote.
- September 25, 2024: The Senate adopted S. Res. 837. The resolution authorized certification of the committee report concerning de la Torre’s refusal to appear and testify. The committee’s 2026 account says the report was certified to the U.S. Attorney for presentation to a grand jury.
The Senate’s action authorized a referral; it did not convict de la Torre, determine criminal guilt, or itself establish liability for the conditions described by committee members and witnesses.
What was meant by “third-world medicine”?
The phrase came from a physician’s reported description of conditions at Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, Louisiana. In prepared remarks, senators said a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report recounted that the physician used the phrase when speaking to a state inspector. The remarks also said the state required Glenwood to operate at one-third of capacity and recounted that a patient died while awaiting transfer because the hospital lacked resources.
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Those details were presented in committee remarks through the cited CMS report and the committee’s account. They were not findings established by the Senate contempt vote. The phrase should not be read as a general description of Steward hospitals or their patients.
Committee materials also cited nurse Ellen MacInnis’s testimony about emergency-room waits at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston, as well as testimony and committee descriptions concerning unpaid vendors and bereavement supplies. Those are attributed accounts, not conclusions reached by the Senate’s contempt resolution.
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What happened to Steward Health Care?
Steward filed for bankruptcy on May 6, 2024, according to an August 2026 HELP Committee letter. That letter described the company as having previously operated 31 hospitals across Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The committee called the bankruptcy the largest for-profit hospital bankruptcy in U.S. history; that characterization is the committee’s, not a finding made by the contempt resolution.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Has the Justice Department acted on the referral?
In August 2026, HELP leaders said the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia had not yet acted on the referral and asked for a status update by August 20, 2026. That is the latest official case-status account available here. It does not establish whether the office responded after the requested date or whether any later court action occurred.
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