We need these hospitals, and we need them to be open and functioning, and functioning at a high level.

We have now seen the buyouts and M and As led by private equity firms, over 30 percent of hospitals here in the U.S.

This is a prime example of the danger of private equity. The private equity firms walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars.

We need to put an end to that, and we can.

They kept the State of Massachusetts in the dark. They refused to provide the information necessary for the state to be able to make a determination as to the financial condition of Steward.

When private equity gets hold of health care providers, it is literally a matter of life and death.

They are going to charge everybody who comes in the door more, which means either the taxpayers, the insurance companies, or private individuals, right?

The Health Over Wealth Act would protect every patient and provider that private equity touches.

I think if it were beneficial for the hospitals or beneficial for the people of the Commonwealth, we would hear about all of those elements.

Thank you, Senator Markey, for giving us a powerful tool for the job.

The sale has been spun as a way out of the financial crisis for Steward's Massachusetts hospitals.

the pursuit of profit ought to have, at most, a very, very limited role to play in navigating our way to the health and health care system we need and can afford, where the patient truly comes first.

We need to hold these executives accountable. We need to rein in private equity's influence over the health care system.

Failure is not an option. We have to fix the system.

Thank you so much for your--thank you so much for your testimony.

Today I missed votes due to an illness. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 102, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 103, and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 104. ____________________

Today I missed votes due to an illness. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 96, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 97, and ``yes'' on rollcall No. 98. ____________________

No one in the country believes China is a market economy.