SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
ralph de la torre
And the Winners of the 2024 Shkreli Awards for Worst Healthcare Profiteering Are...
"All these stories paint a picture of a healthcare industry in desperate need of transformation," said the head of the think tank behind the awards.
Jan 07, 2025
The "winners" of the annual Shkreli Awards—named after notorious "pharma bro" Martin Shkreli and given to the 10 "worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in healthcare"—include a Texas medical school that sold body parts of deceased people without relatives' consent, an alleged multibillion-dollar catheter scam, an oncologist who subjected patients to unnecessary cancer treatments, and a "monster monopoly" insurer.
The Shkreli Awards, now in their eighth year, are given annually by the Lown Institute, a Massachusetts-based think tank "advocating bold ideas for a just and caring system for health." A panel of 20 expert judges—who include physicians, professors, activists, and others—determine the winners.
This year's awardees are:
10: The University of North Texas Health Science Center "dissected and distributed unclaimed bodies without properly seeking consent from the deceased or their families" and supplied the parts "to medical students as well as major for-profit ventures like Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson," reporting revealed.
9:
Baby tongue-tie cutting procedures are "being touted as a cure for everything from breastfeeding difficulties to sleep apnea, scoliosis, and even constipation"—despite any conclusive evidence that the procedure is effective.
8: Zynex Medical is a company facing scrutiny for its billing practices related to nerve stimulation devices used for pain management.
7: Insurance giant Cigna is under fire for billing a family nearly $100,000 for an infant's medevac flight.
6: Seven suppliers allegedly ran a multibillion-dollar urinary catheter billing scam that affected hundreds of thousands of Medicare patients.
5: Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico allegedly refused cancer treatment "to patients or demanding upfront payments, even from those with insurance."
4: Dr. Thomas C. Weiner is a Montana oncologist who allegedly "subjected a patient to unnecessary cancer treatments for over a decade," provided "disturbingly high doses of barbiturates to facilitate death in seriously ill patients, when those patients may not have actually been close to death," and "prescribed high doses of opioids to patients that did not need them." Weiner denies any wrongdoing.
3: Pharma giant Amgen was accused of pushing 960-milligram doses of its highly toxic cancer drug Lumakras, when "a lower 240mg dose offers similar efficacy with reduced toxicity"—but costs $180,000 less per patient annually at the lower dose.
2: UnitedHealth allegedly exploited "its vast physician network to maximize profits, often at the expense of patients and clinicians," including by pressuring doctors "to reduce time with patients and to practice aggressive medical coding tactics that make patients seem as sick as possible" in order to earn higher reimbursements from the federal government."
🥁🥁🥁
1: Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre was accused of orchestrating "a dramatic healthcare debacle by prioritizing private equity profits over patient care" amid "debt and sale-leaseback schemes" and a bankruptcy that "left hospitals gutted, employees laid off, and communities underserved" as he reportedly walked away "with more than $250 million over the last four years as hospitals tanked."
"All these stories paint a picture of a healthcare industry in desperate need of transformation," Lown Institute president Dr. Vikas Saini said during the award ceremony, according toThe Guardian.
"Doing these awards every year shows us that this is nothing new," he added. "We're hoping that these stories illuminate what changes are needed."
The latest Shkreli Awards came just weeks after the brazen assassination of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth subsidiary UnitedHealthcare. Although alleged gunman Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty, his reported manifesto—which rails against insurance industry greed—resonated with people across the country and sparked discussions about the for-profit healthcare system.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'No One Is Above the Law': Sanders-Led Panel Votes to Hold Steward CEO in Contempt
"Even though he may be able to afford some of the most expensive lawyers in America—no, Dr. de la Torre is not above the law," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Sep 19, 2024
A U.S. Senate panel led by Sen. Bernie Sanders voted Thursday in favor of holding Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in civil and criminal contempt after he refused to appear at a hearing last week in defiance of a congressional subpoena.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed the contempt resolutions in a near-unanimous vote, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) abstaining.
The vote marked "the first time in modern American history that the HELP Committee has issued a civil or criminal contempt resolution," according to Sanders' office.
The approval of the two resolutions, which now head to the full Senate for consideration, could mean jail time for de la Torre, who has come under fire for purchasing two yachts as his private equity-backed company faced financial turmoil. De la Torre was paid a salary of nearly $4 million the year before Steward ultimately filed for bankruptcy.
A lawyer for de la Torre insisted in a letter to Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday that the CEO "lacks the authority to speak on behalf of Steward with respect to the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and he is prohibited by a federal court order from doing so."
Ahead of Thursday's vote, Sanders said de la Torre's decision not to comply with the Senate HELP Committee's subpoena was "unfortunate and unacceptable."
"For months, this committee has invited Dr. de la Torre to testify about the financial mismanagement and what occurred at Steward Health Care. Time after time he has arrogantly refused to appear," said Sanders. "Dr. de la Torre has given us no choice but to move forward this morning on two resolutions to enforce the subpoena and to hold him accountable for his actions."
"Even though Dr. de la Torre may be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, even though he may be able to own fancy yachts and private jets and luxurious accommodations throughout the world, even though he may be able to afford some of the most expensive lawyers in America—no, Dr. de la Torre is not above the law," Sanders added.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate panel, said in a statement that "as a physician and as the CEO of Steward from its founding, there is no one who understood the potential consequences of Steward's failures more than Dr. Ralph de la Torre."
"Dr. de la Torre led Steward when it sold out hospital real estate to Medical Properties Trust and allowed [the private equity firm] Cerberus to extract over $800 million in profit," said Markey. "Dr. de la Torre led Steward as eight hospitals closed, 2,000 patients were endangered, and at least 15 patients died. Dr. de la Torre led Steward as it filed for bankruptcy."
"We are making clear to Dr. de la Torre, the Steward Board of Directors and senior leadership, and other CEOs, private equity investors, and corporate executives who treat the healthcare system like their piggy bank: Your millions do not shield you from accountability to a legal order issued by the United States Senate," Markey added.
The Senate panel's passage of the two resolutions comes a week after Steward nurses told the committee—in de la Torre's absence—that Steward-owned hospitals were disastrous for patients and healthcare workers. A report published by the Senate HELP Committee earlier this month found that "death rates for certain conditions at some Steward-owned hospitals increased as death rates for those same conditions held steady or decreased across the country."
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said in a statement Thursday that the Senate panel's "actions today are an important reminder that no one is above the law."
" Congress and the American people deserve answers on what happened under Dr. de la Torre's watch at Steward, as his damaging actions had real consequences for patient health," said Gilbert. "Dr. de la Torre and others like him should not be able to ignore congressional subpoenas without accountability."
If the full Senate approves the criminal contempt resolution, it would "refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to criminally prosecute Dr. de la Torre for failing to comply with the subpoena," Sanders' office said.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Sanders Says Senate Hearing Will Put 'Greed on Display' With or Without Healthcare CEO
"Dr. de la Torre will be held accountable for his greed and the damage he has caused the American people and our nation's healthcare system."
Sep 06, 2024
Taking aim at Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre's refusal to comply with a Senate subpoena, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday said the committee he chairs will still hold a hearing next week on the company's bankruptcy and healthcare industry greed.
"Working with private equity vultures, Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre has made hundreds of millions of dollars ripping off patients and healthcare providers across the country," said Sanders, who heads the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP).
"This outrageous display of corporate greed has resulted in more than 30 Steward hospitals in eight states being forced to declare bankruptcy, putting patients and communities at risk," added the senator, who said the hearing is set to take place next Thursday at 10:00 am Eastern time.
"Ralph de la Torre has made hundreds of millions of dollars ripping off patients and health care providers across the country."
Steward is trying to auction off all 31 of its hospitals in order to pay down its debt. As Common Dreams reported, the HELP committee—which includes 10 Republicans—voted 20-1 in July to investigate Steward Health Care's bankruptcy, and 16-4 to subpoena de la Torre.
"Dr. de la Torre will be held accountable for his greed and the damage he has caused the American people and our nation's healthcare system," Sanders said Friday. "Is it my hope that Dr. de la Torre will do the right thing, change his mind, and join our hearing to provide testimony? Yes. But let me be clear: With or without him, this hearing is going forward."
"We will expose his fraud, and put his greed on display," the senator added. "I look forward to hearing from patients, medical professionals, and community members whose lives have been upended by Dr. de la Torre and his private equity cronies."
Another HELP committee member, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is a bankruptcy law expert, on Wednesday accused de la Torre of using Steward-owned hospitals "as his personal piggy bank."
De la Torre—who according to Steward's bankruptcy filing received more than $4 million in compensation between May 2023 and April 2024—has also come under fire for his 2021 purchase of a 190-foot megayacht believed to be worth around $40 million. That year, Steward's owners paid themselves millions of dollars in dividends.
On Thursday, CBS News reported that in 2017 Steward executives including de la Torre illegally conspired with Maltese officials in order to secure a hospital contract, according to a whistleblower.
While a spokesperson for the executive denied any wrongdoing, whistleblower Ram Tumuluri alleged in a complaint to the U.S. Congress that "in touting Steward's supposed competitive advantage in Malta... de la Torre boasted that he could issue 'brown bags' to government officials if necessary to close transactions."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular