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

Fighting against corporate greed is going to be an uphill battle, but it is what Senator Warren, and I are promising you here today.

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

It is called the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, and it is the most comprehensive legislation to fundamentally reform the private equity industry.

When you remove a facility from a community, they no longer will maintain that ability to live prosperous lives.

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

We need accountability here, and law enforcement authorities should carefully review every aspect of this fiasco.

I do not understand how regulators can approve such a deal.

I have been warning about the dangers of private equity for years.

I will say it bluntly, turning private equity loose in our health care system kills people.

Instead of health care experts, you do have wealth care experts.

To be clear, I would forbid private equity firms from owning or controlling health care delivery.

Right. So going in, they would want you to think that if anything went wrong, it was because of benign neglect.

Together, we will guarantee every American a health care system, not a wealth care system.

The blame for this crisis falls squarely on the private equity firm that bought the hospitals and stripped their assets.

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

It is insufficient to simply replace one for-profit company with another, like Steward or Optum, without assurances.

This hearing is a good start, and I am grateful to Senator Markey for getting the ball rolling.