Elizabeth Warren

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

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.

So, Dr. Berwick, is there anything in the deal as reported so far that requires Steward to put that money back into the Massachusetts hospitals?

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

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

Private equity should not be allowed to loot one business after another, and I have introduced the most comprehensive bill to overhaul the private equity industry.

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

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

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

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

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

I am announcing a new agenda that provides for stronger oversight of corporate greed.

A broken health care promise could cause communities their lives and livelihoods.

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

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

The potential collapse of Steward Healthcare threatens access to health care for communities all across our Commonwealth.

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

Failure to appear is cowardice.

We have failed to step up and change the law to protect the delivery of health care system in America.

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

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

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

But it should. And that is really the point here. So, I am also introducing new legislation to change that.

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

How do they think they are going to make tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars in return on their investment?